The Friggin' Cure
by inzane73
Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late? It's not your average Cure fic, people. I promise. Final chapter is rated a soft M, just to be safe.
1. Prologue

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing relating to the characters or universe of Dark Angel. If I had, let's just say that things would have gone down a lot differently.

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

A/N: This is my first attempt at a fic, so please be kind. This is Max/Alec all the way, post Freak Nation. Be forewarned... there will be swearing, angst, and a whole lot a hurt heaped on Alec, 'cause I like it.

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Prologue:

It was the smell that was driving her crazy. The smell of blood. _His _blood.

Max huddled in the bottom of the shower stall, shivering as the frigid water--the only kind available in TC--stung her as she compulsively scrubbed at her skin. She could not get rid of the smell of his blood... _Alec's blood_.

She didn't know how long she had been like this. She just needed the smell to go away--_had_ to make it go away. The blood was long gone, but she could swear that the smell of it remained. Damn transgenic sense of smell.

She was vaguely aware of the chattering noise, which some part of her realized was her own teeth. She could hear Joshua pacing outside the stall, keeping his eyes averted from her nakedness, begging her to come out of the freezing shower. She was dimly aware of the bluish tinge of her freezing skin. But all she really heard was the rush of her own blood in her ears and all she could smell was the smell of Alec's blood on her skin.

If she could just make the smell go away, everything would better, she wouldn't keep thinking about it. If she could just...

FLASH

_...a bruised and battered Dalton--his small frame almost collapsing under the effort of supporting a pale, blood-soaked Alec--screaming for help..._

FLASH

_...Joshua lowering Alec onto the gurney in Medical. The medic ripping open Alec's shirt to reveal two gun shot wounds to the chest..._

FLASH

_...blood gushing out of Alec's mouth as he coughed, chokingly trying to breathe around a mouth full of blood...._

FLASH

_...the wail of the heart monitor as it flatlined. The persistent wail that continued on, as Alec's body arced off of the bed as the medic sent 300 joules racing through his body..._

"STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!" Max cried out, banging her head against the back of the shower stall with each protest.

"Boo?"

Max's mind registered the new voice as Original Cindy's, and for a second, she wondered what her friend was doing here in the toxic city, but she then quickly determined the voice was unimportant.

"Max?" Cindy's voice sounded scared, but she didn't care. It wasn't important.

Nothing was important but getting rid of the smell of Alec's blood.


	2. Ch 1: Mad as Hell

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: I still own nothing. No money made, just having a bit of fun.

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

A/N: Be warned - swearing and a lot of bad attitude a la ticked off Alec.

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Chapter 1 : Mad as Hell

_Two Days Earlier_

Alec was beyond pissed. He was _livid_. How dare she? How _dare _she?

No one leaves Terminal City without backup. It was a rule. The first rule in the almighty _Book of Max_. _We made these rules to protect all of us, Alec. If we break our own rules, what kind of example would we be setting, Alec?_ How many times had he heard it? And then, as soon as things finally start to cool down a bit with the ordinaries, off she goes, running off to see _him_. By herself. In violation of Max Law Number One. And here he was, slugging through the sewers, chasing after her ass, breaking the damn rules himself.

Well, he wasn't going to pull his punches this time. The next time he saw their fearless leader, he was going to give her a piece of his mind, and not the bullshit he usually fed her, but the straight-up truth. If he shattered the uneasy truce they had made between them in the past six months since the transgenics came out to the world, then so be it.

Ever since the Jam Pony incident, he and Max had pretty much been breathing the same air, working together day and night in their efforts to keep the denizens of TC alive. Max began to rely on him more and more, something that had made him uneasy at first. They still fought like cats and, well...cats. Truth be told, he felt a something akin to withdrawal if Maxie didn't smack him upside the head at least once a day. But that was how their relationship worked.

_Relationship_. Now there was a loaded word when it came to Max. Her _not-like-that _relationship with Logan. Her _like-that, but-not-really-like-that, only-so-I-can-push-my-not-like-that-boyfriend-away-for-his-own-good _relationship with him. Max had begged him to keep up the charade, and he had agreed, partly because he felt he owed her. But deep down, where he kept all the heavy emotions under lock and key like the good little genetically engineered soldier he was, he knew that he played along in the vain hope that maybe someday it wouldn't be an act.

Their relationship had changed...had evolved. They seemed to know what the other was thinking, and often communicated with a simple look. The insults they threw at each other became less hurtful, more teasing. The smacks upside the head--though it might just be wishful thinking on his part--sometimes almost seemed to end in a caress.

_Damn, Max._ Damn her for giving him just a glimmer of hope, causing hairline fractures in the wall that he had built around his feelings for her. A wall he had spent a long year and a half building to protect himself from wanting what he knew would never be. Fractures that had been in danger of bringing the wall tumbling down, until he got _the call_.

The call that had set him on his current rampage had come in about a half hour earlier. He had been headed back to his TC apartment after helping Mole inventory the new weapons they had procured during a mission Alec had led earlier in the evening--something that had taken at least an hour longer than Alec had planned, because if there was one thing that Mole took seriously, it was his ordinance. He just wanted to get back to his room, hoping for the possibility of a few hours sleep before Miss Shark DNA showed up to drag his ass off to a meeting. For a girl who had always been late for work at Jam Pony, she sure was a stickler for punctuality.

Just as Alec was shrugging off his battered leather jacket in preparation for falling face first on his couch, his cell phone rang. He had managed to keep the phone in service so he could stay in contact with his suppliers--no easy feat for someone who had no legal employment and was considered a fugitive from justice. When he glanced at the caller ID, he groaned, trying to decide if he really wanted to deal with the person on the other end right now. Going against what he felt was better judgment, he answered the call.

"What?"

_Nice to hear from you, too, Alec. Just as abrupt as ever, I see?_

Alec sighed, running a hand through his already mussed dark blonde hair. "What do you want, Logan? Let's just get right to the point, 'cause I'm fucking tired."

_We need your help._

"Look, Logan, I don't give a damn what you and S1W need..."

"_Me and Max."_

"..so you can take your save-the-world shit and..._what_?" It had taken a second, but Alec's brain finally registered what Logan had said.

_Me and Max. We need you to come over right away._

Alec stood in his apartment, jacket still hanging from one arm, mouth hanging open in shocked silence. After about ten seconds, he finally managed to ask, his voice a bit hoarse, "Max is with you?"

_Uh, yeah, and she wants you to come right over. We all need to talk. My place._

Alec felt as if his blood had turned to ice. "Let me speak to Max," he asked frostily.

_I'm sorry, that's not possible, Alec. Max decided to pop in the shower. I've got hot water here now. Just get here. It's important. _And with that, Logan ended the call.

Alec stood for a minute, staring at his cell, as if it could somehow make sense of the conversation that just happened. His traitorous mind pictured naked Max, wet Max, in the shower, a latex covered hand reaching to stroke her back...

Alec shook his head. _Get a grip, soldier__ཀ _There's no way Max broke her own rules and left TC. He reached down to his side for his radio and commed Dix in Command. "Hey, Dix, you there, buddy?" His voice came out a bit higher pitched than usual.

"_Yeah, Alec, what's up?" _the monocled transhuman replied.

Alec cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "Is, uh....is Max still with you going over the equipment lists?" Max had planned to work with Dix on getting together a list of new computer equipment they wanted to pick up during the next heist.

_Nope, she bugged out early. Said she had some important stuff to take care of._

Alec closed his eyes on hearing Dix confirm his fears, hanging his head. Max had gone to see Logan. She probably wanted him there so he could confirm the truth when she told Logan that she had never been with Alec. She had gone off by herself, _risking _herself, to be with the man she loved. Alec felt his chest tighten at the thought. Looked like the fairy tale was over.

Alec threw his phone into the wall, shattering it into useless pieces. He roughly shoved his jacket back on and stalked out the door, trying but failing to put back the Manticore mask that hid his emotions. As he left the apartment building, no one could mistake the look on his face for anything but pure rage. He was so overtaken by his own anger that he did not notice the shadow detatch itself from the wall and follow him out of Terminal City.


	3. Ch 2: The Mission

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: Nothing relating to Dark Angel is owned by me, so I'm defiantly not making the moolah.

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

A/N: Seems like a few people were a bit put off by my title. What can I say? It seemed like a good idea around 1AM when I finished writing the first two segments. I still like it, but here I am burning the midnight oil again writing this, so I could be completely delusional at this point. C'est la vie! (_That's the only French I know, and I had to look up the spelling on that one, so please don't send me any reviews in French_!)

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Chapter 2: The Mission

Alec slammed through the door of Joshua's old place--he still couldn't think of it as Logan's house--practically taking the thing off its hinges. He stalked into the house, blowing by a startled Logan, who was, typically, plugging away at his workstation. He heard Logan make some comment about knocking, lack of manners, whatever--he could care less. His single-minded focus was to find Max and give her hell.

Logan shoved himself up out of his chair to trail behind Alec, exoskeleton quietly whirring. He had been forced to rely on the device more and more since the effects of the transgenic blood transfusions had begun to wear off. His body had apparently adapted to the blood, and he found he needed transfusions more often to maintain mobility. The TC Council had finally refused to give him any more transfusions. Max had been very uncomfortable when she told him the news on his final visit to TC; she couldn't even look at him. He had thought that she was ashamed of the selfishness of her brethren, and had told that it wasn't her fault that she was outvoted. Alec, who just happened to be walking by (the man always had an uncanny sense of timing for interrupting him and Max), had commented offhandedly that the vote had been unanimous. Max's face had turned an interesting shade of red before she turned and walked away without a word. Alec had given him a lopsided grin and an insincere _Sorry, man. _He then had the audacity to clap Logan on the shoulder and say_, But hey, you still got the tin suit, right?_ God, he hated that man.

Logan tried to catch up to the bane of his existence during Alec's frenetic search of the house, unsuccessfully trying to get the transgenic's attention. "Alec. Alec! What do you think you are doing? Hey, just stop a minute…. "

Logan reached out and grabbed Alec's arm. The older man realized his mistake when not Alec but 494 turned to face him, jaw clenched, a look of cold rage in his hazel eyes. Reminded that the person in front of him was not entirely human, Logan backed away, hands raised. _Never mess with a genetically engineered killing machine on the warpath._ Alec looked Logan up and down, as if accessing a threat. Logan was apparently deemed harmless, for Alec turned on his heel and continued his search.

Having searched the first floor of the old house without any sign of his quarry, Alec started up the stairs. Every muscle in his body seemed like a taught-strung wire, ready to snap at any moment. Realizing he was close to losing it, he stopped and took a deep breath. _Get yourself under control, man! _He closed his eyes and took another deep breath...and suddenly the world came crashing to a halt. Time slowed, and everything took on an almost painful level of clarity as he put his entire focus into his transgenic senses. His suspicions confirmed, he slowly turned around to find Logan at the bottom of the stairs, looking a bit nervous.

Alec blurred over to the man, picking him up by his neck and slamming him into the nearest wall. He realized he was losing what little control he had left at the moment Logan's face started to turn red and his eyes began to bulge behind his glasses. Alec loosened his grip and let the man slide down the wall until his feet touched the floor, but he refused to let go and kept the cyber-journalist pressed to the wall. Eyes narrowed, Alec leaned forward until his face was inches from Logan's.

"What's your game, Wheels?" His voice was a low, primal growl that he hardly recognized as his own.

Logan coughed a couple of times and cleared his throat, hands grabbing at the arm holding him pinned against the wall. "You've obviously finally lost your mind. I have no idea what you're talking about, now get off me!"

"Don't mess with me, Logan. You're not a stupid man. I've had a very long day dealing with the Russian mafia, being stuck in a very small room with Mole and a bunch of guns for _two hours_, and on top of that I've had zero sleep, so I suggest that you do...not...FUCK WITH ME!" Alec punctuated each of his last words with a shove.

A staring contest ensued, each participant unwilling to be the first to break the silence, the only noise the harsh breathing of each combatant.

Logan let go of Alec's arms and frowned. Alec had won this round. "How'd you know?" he asked in a quiet voice that Alec had always considered too soft for a guy.

"'Cause I'd be able to smell Max if she were here," he said gruffly. Alec finally let go of Logan and took a step back. "You wanna tell me why you fed me that load of bullshit?" He shrugged his shoulders and twisted his neck from side to side, banishing 494 back to the depths and pulling back on his smart-aleck facade, trademark smirk included. "You miss me?"

Logan sighed, walking over to his workstation to drop heavily into the chair, hand massaging his sore neck. "I knew it was the only way you would come," he said simply.

Alec let out a bark of a laugh, rolling his eyes. "You got that right in one, Roller-boy." Having regained control of himself, he leaned on the doorframe and raised his eyebrows at Logan, waiting for the man to spill.

Logan turned to his computer and began typing, pulling up files he would need for this conversation with Alec. Not looking up from his computer, he said, "I need you to go on a mission."

Alec lowered his head, shaking it back and forth. "I believe we've covered this ground before. We're not your own personal army, Logan."

Logan turned his chair to face Alec. "I don't want any other transgenics involved. Just you."

"Hmmph. Just me, huh? The screw up? The guy who can't get anything right?"

"Look, I know we've had our differences," at which point Logan held up a hand to stop Alec from interrupting, "and I realize that is a gross understatement, but you are a master at procurement, and I have something important I need you to obtain for me."

Alec walked further into the room, waving his hands around as he tried to figure out what Logan wanted him to retrieve. "Lemme guess, huh? You need a new encryption cipher for your Eyes Only deal? How 'bout a pretty red cape you can wear while you do your super hero gig, huh? No wait, wait, matching exo arms to go with your exo legs, right? A cure to the big bad virus?"

At Alec's last words, Logan raised his chin and stared at Alec defiantly. Shocked, Alec stopped his pacing to stare back, hands paused in mid-wave. He had to swallow around the lump in his throat to get his voice working again. "You found the cure?"

"Yes, I did." Logan replied, a self-satisfied smile on his face. "I know it's hard for you, but if you could possibly stand still and shut up for more than two seconds, I'll give you the details of the mission."

Alec strode over to an old, overstuffed chair across from Logan and threw himself down in it, slouching down until he looked more like a recalcitrant teenager awaiting a lecture than the epitome of genetic engineering he was.

Logan cleared his throat before continuing, walked over and handed Alec a folder, and then returned to his computer to read the details he had gleaned about the cure.

"There's a lab--Advanced Biomedics, right here in Seattle--that was formally tied to Manticore. It's been right under our noses all this time, if you can believe it. They handled a lot of the viral agents and bio agents that Manticore cooked up. Manticore was only a small division of their business, so when it went down, the company was able to continue with its public business ventures without losing much ground. I have a contact on the inside, and he said that there is a cold storage vault where they have copies of all the Manticore research that they developed. They apparently didn't completely trust Manticore and wanted to keep their options open for outside buyers if things went south. This was all kept pretty hush hush for obvious reasons. There's average security, nothing you can't handle. The schedule for the guards' rounds is listed on the page labeled...."

Alec had been halfheartedly flipping through the information in the folder when he interrupted Logan. "So how do you know they even have the cure?"

"The last three pages in the folder are an inventory of the cold storage unit. I highlighted the cure and its location in the vault on page two of the list."

Alec flipped to the back of the folder. Sure enough, highlighted in neon orange, was the end of all his secret hopes and dreams. He blinked, as if it would somehow change the words on the paper and everything they entailed, but they stubbornly refused to go away.

"I know it's a lie…you and Max."

Alec's head snapped up at this comment, his heart pounding at the thought that they had been caught, and that Maxie was going to blame him for Logan finding out and kill him slow. No way was he going out like that. _When trapped in a corner, do what you do best_, he thought..._lie your ass off._

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alec said evenly. "Me and Maxie are fine." If he had been hooked up to a lie detector, he would have passed with flying colors.

Logan gave a bitter laugh. "Sure, that's why you came storming over here ready to snap my neck when you thought Max was here with me. It may not be a lie on your part, Alec, but I know it is on Max's." _I hope to God it's a lie on her part_, Logan silently added. He couldn't deny the bond that had been developing between Max and Alec since the siege; this was his last chance to get Max back before it was too late.

Alec couldn't stop himself from flinching at Logan's words. The truth hurt. _No point in keeping up the charade. Best to fall back to a defensive position_. "So why the hell should I risk my ass for you?"

Logan rolled his chair over to Alec, stopping two feet in front of him, elbows on knees, hands folded. "Would you really want to be with her without ever knowing if she's with you only because she can't be with me? Can you live with being her second choice? Don't you think that Max has the right to choose the man she wants? You owe her, Alec. And I think you care enough about Max to give her the opportunity to make that choice."

Alec was defeated. Logan had won this battle. He hated that he had been outmaneuvered by an ordinary, especially an uptight, self-righteous, computer geek. He suddenly stood, sending Logan skittering backwards on his wheeled desk chair.

"Fine, I'll do it," Alec declared. "Tomorrow night. I'll stop by on my way home to case the joint." And with that comment, Alec turned and headed out of the room.

Alec paused at the door and looked back over his shoulder. "Aren't you going to tell me to be careful?" he asked with a mischievous grin. Receiving only a glare from Logan in response, the X5 wickedly laughed as he walked out into the night.

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A/N: My God, this chapter was hard to write! I had a really hard time writing Logan; he must know I'm rooting against him. If he's out of character, let me apologize in advance. I did my best.

I wonder how many of you should have to apologize to Max for all of the mean thoughts you had about her last chapter, thinking she had run off with Logan?! (Insert evil laughter)

Please review. Feedback helps my muse.


	4. Ch 3: Me and My Shadow

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: I was playing a mean hand of poker with the Devil last night, and won the rights to Dark Angel! Kidding, just kidding. I own nothing but the crazy storyline bouncing around the inside of my skull, and I'm certainly not making any money off of that.

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

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Chapter 3: Me and My Shadow

After Alec checked out the security at Advanced Biomedics, which he had to agree with Logan would give him no trouble, he was back trudging through the sewers. He had only gone a few hundred feet when he entered full-on sneak and creep mode. He was being followed.

Alec had detected the tail shortly after he had left Logan at Joshua's house. He was well and truly pissed with himself too, because he realized that whoever was following him had probably been doing it since he had left TC. He had been so blinded by anger that he hadn't picked it up. _Careless_. No wonder Manticore had tried so hard to purge them of all emotion. It could definitely be a liability if you let it overtake you like he had earlier. Clearing his mind, he had made a complex set of turns in the tunnels, then silently doubled back to lay in wait for his unwanted guest.

After about ten minutes of waiting, a dark figure finally passed in front of Alec's hiding place. He dove out of the niche to tackle his would-be assailant. He grabbed the front of his enemy's jacket and picked him up to slam him bodily into the side wall of the sewer. Alec realized that this process was much too easy as his follower was significantly shorter and lighter than expected. He pulled the person away from the wall and into the glow of the emergency lights.

This was definitely _not_ what he expected. "Dalton?" Alec said incredulously. The kid attempted to look contrite, but had obviously been sprung from Manticore before he had been taught the fine art of lying and deception. Alec gave him a little shake. "What the hell are you doing following me? You do know that you're in violation of Rule Number One and that I have every right to kick your ass here and now?"

Dalton's voice cracked a bit as he replied, and he looked a bit panicked, but his eyes never wavered from Alec's. "Well, technically, I'm not in violation, 'cause I was following _you _around all night, so technically I was with you. And since I was technically with you, then _you_ aren't technically in violation of Rule Number One either, so technically Max can't kick _your_ ass."

Alec stared back, loosening his grip but refusing to let go of the kid just in case he might bolt. "That's a lot of technicalities."

Though he hated to admit it, Alec had a soft spot for the young X6, who had developed a serious case of hero-worship when it came to Alec. Dalton had followed him around and made such a nuisance of himself in the past couple of months that Alec had finally made the adolescent his unofficial assistant, which, much to Alec's pleasure, had bugged Max to no end.

Dalton shifted uneasily from foot to foot, concerned he had said too much. He'd had front row seats to Alec's rampage earlier that evening, and it had shaken him. He had seen Alec mad before, but never like this. He certainly did not want to be on the receiving end of Alec's temper any time soon.

Alec watched the kid squirm. Might as well press him while he had him off balance.

"So," Alec asked, slightly tightening his grip on Dalton, "how much did you hear?"

Dalton gulped. _He was so screwed_. "All of it?" he replied hesitantly.

Alec nodded his head in resignation. Then he grabbed the X6 by the scruff of the neck and proceeded to frog march him down the tunnel. "Okay, here's how this is going to go down. We are heading back to base and you are going to forget everything you heard tonight. None of this ever happened. You are going to play dumb if anyone asks you where I am tomorrow night. You are going to be the most clueless transgenic in relation to all things Alec, you got me?"

Dalton dug in his heels at this and ducked his head, slipping out of Alec's grasp. He backed up a few steps to put more distance between them.

"No way. You can't go on this mission by yourself. I won't let you do it." The kid's eyes widened at that, as if he just realized the implications of what he had said.

Alec frowned and took a menacing step toward Dalton. "You won't _let _me?" he replied in glacial tone.

Dalton took another step back, trying to keep what he hoped was a safe distance between them. "N...no...," he stuttered. He said the rest of what he had to say in a rush, trying to get it out before he lost his nerve. "I'm gonna go with you, and if you don't take me, I'll tell every single person I see from now until tomorrow night what you're planning to do. _I'll tell Max_, I swear I will. I can do this, it's a simple B and E, and you need someone to watch your back, it would be a tactical error not to have a lookout, you _need _me!"

Alec folded his arms and tilted his head, looking at Dalton as if he was a bug that needed squashed. "I could snap your scrawny little neck right here and solve all of my problems."

At this, Dalton gave Alec a 100-megawatt smile. "No you won't. You like me too much."

_Busted. _Alec harrumphed and ran a hand through his dark-blonde hair. He then walked over to his young friend, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "Well, I guess you got me there, kid."

They began to make their way back through the maze of tunnels to Terminal City. Alec took his arm from Dalton's shoulders and wrapped it around the kid's neck, pulling him into a headlock, never slowing his pace down the tunnel.

"But that doesn't mean that if you ever try to pull a stunt like this again I won't pound on your ass. I will allow you to come with me tomorrow night, and you will do exactly what I say without question. I will tell you what you can and cannot do on this mission, and you will give me no arguments. My word is law. You will not tell anyone about this. If even a hint of this gets out, I will reconsider just how much I like you. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Dalton choked out around Alec's arm.

Alec ruffled Dalton's spiky blonde hair and released him. "You know, I think you have been hanging around me for far too long. You're starting to get just as reckless. Come on, I'll brief you on what we need for tomorrow night. Let's get home before someone notices we're missing."

The two transgenics discussed the details of the mission as they walked back to TC. Alec really hated dragging Dalton into this mess, but at this point, what could he do? He may be a kid, but he was also a manticore-trained soldier. He probably would love to see a little action, and the building's security in the cold storage sector really was lax. It should be a cakewalk. Even though the job looked simple, his mind railed at the thought of completing it...of placing the one thing in Max's hand that might cause him to lose any possible chance he had with her. How could he do the one thing that might destroy all he had ever really wanted since he was set free from Manticore?

The answer was simple. After the emotional turmoil of the day, the already damaged walls Alec had fought hard to construct around his feelings came crashing down. _He loved Max_. _He_ loved _her_. No use denying it now. He wanted to be able to wrap her in his arms, to fall asleep at her side and wake up to her warm body wrapped around his. He wanted to be free to play with her hair, to nuzzle her neck and breathe in the scent of her. He wanted her to smile at him the way he had seen her smile at Logan. But most of all, he wanted her to be happy.

Alec cursed Logan for being right. Max had the right to choose, and he would be damned if he didn't give her the opportunity to make that choice.

* * *

A/N: For those of you looking for Max, she finally makes an appearance next chapter. I promise.


	5. Ch 4: Popcorn and Apologies

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Dark Angel.

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

A/N: Warning. Lots of swearing and fighting near the end of this chapter. Max and Alec fireworks. (Don't cheat and scroll down to the good stuff.)

* * *

Chapter 4: Popcorn and Apologies

Max stood in the shadow of the building, silent and unmoving, one with the darkness. She waited. Her dark chocolate eyes dilated to adjust as the last of the light faded from the sky. They never wavered from her target: the entrance to a small, forsaken alleyway just outside the fences of Terminal City.

Since their seemingly endless negotiations had finally resulted in decreased military presence, TC was no longer completely surrounded. Mostly there were just the patrols by the sector police and the relatively small group of soldiers the military still had stationed here. Transgenics still weren't free to come and go as they pleased, but at least they were in less danger of starting an all out war on the streets of Seattle. Even the ordinaries had eased off the constant protesting and bonfires; it seemed the average joe didn't have the energy or the attention span to endure a long siege.

Max's enhanced vision picked up movement in the alley long before the man stepped into the weak light coming from the flickering _Rooms for Rent _sign on the building across the way. The manager could most likely offer a body any room in the entire place; not a lot of people wanted to live across from a toxic waste dump full of freaks and mutants. The man looked a bit nervous, but Max knew he was perfectly safe from muggers or any other criminal element. Most bad guys didn't want to hang around an area regularly patrolled by the sector police.

She waited five minutes to verify that he was not followed before making a running jump over the tall fence to land quietly on the other side. The man looked around, adjusting the bag slung over his shoulder and repeatedly glancing at his watch. With a crooked grin on her face, Max snuck up behind the guy and gave him a quick rap on the back of his shaggy blonde head.

The man spun around. "Christ, Max! You scared the hell out of me!" To prove his point, he put his hand to his heart to ensure it was still beating.

Max's grin turned into a full smile. "Hey, Sketchy. Long time, no see."

Sketchy flashed her his best boyish grin in return. "Looking good, Max." He held out his arms. "What, no hug for an old friend?"

Max stepped into Sketchy's arms and hugged him, feeling her throat tighten with emotion. She had missed the big doofus. The emotion quickly changed to annoyance as Sketchy pressed her a little too tight against his chest, hands a little further south than they should be. She rolled her eyes heavenward.

"Sketch, you better not be copping a feel."

Sketchy laughed and released Max. "Uh, sorry. Guy. You know you're still the hottest genetically engineered babe in town, Max."

Max cocked out a hip and crossed her arms, a smirk on her face. "I bet you say that to all the girls made in a test tube."

"Only if it will get me an exclusive interview with the leader of Terminal City?" Sketchy asked hopefully.

Max wrapped an arm around Sketchy's shoulders and led him to the cover of the alleyway. "No time, Sketch, maybe later. The sector police are due to sweep this area in about fifteen. You got what I asked for?"

Sketchy removed the bag from his shoulder. As he passed it to Max, he asked, "So how is Alec, anyway? It sure is a lot harder pickin' up the honeys without an experienced wingman."

Max snorted, thinking about the ridiculous pickup lines Sketchy was probably using if left to his own devices. "I'll bet." The look on her face softened as she thought about her second in command. "You know Alec. He's still either gettin' into trouble or startin' it, same as always." Her tone was almost wistful. She frowned as she realized this, and shook her head to clear it. _Jeez, girl, get a grip. Must be tired_. _Yeah, that's it. Definitely. Too much paperwork and too little sleep…._ Max opened the bag to peer at the contents, and her face lit up. "Excellent. You're the man, Sketchy. I owe you big time."

"Pay me back with an in depth interview on the life and times of Max and her merry band and we'll call it even. "

"You're on." Max slung the bag over her shoulder, then gave Sketchy another quick hug and a peck on the cheek. "Gotta blaze. Can't be caught breakin' my own rules. I'll contact you 'bout the interview thing." And with that, Max blurred back over to the fence and vaulted effortlessly back into TC, turned to give Sketchy a final wave, and then disappeared into the night.

"Cool." Sketchy's hand drifted up to his cheek to where Max had kissed him. He watched Max disappear, then turned and headed back down the alley to where his was bike stashed at the other end, whistling an off-key tune.

* * *

Max had taken to the rooftops of Terminal City, jumping from building to building until she reached her destination. She didn't want to risk anyone intercepting her and her precious cargo. She slipped down the fire escape and crawled in a window in the hall of the apartment building. Going down two flights, she found herself in front of the door to Alec's apartment, which was down the hall from her own. Hand hovering over the door, she bit her bottom lip, wavering. _What's your problem, Max? It's just Alec_. But her heart beat a little faster as she opened the door and stepped into Alec's apartment. It was unlocked. Just about everyone in the city above the age of five could easily circumvent the toughest locks out there, and an enemy who made it this deep into TC wouldn't be stopped by a simple door lock, so what was the point? Max squared her shoulders and stepped into Alec's apartment without bothering to knock, in typical transgenic fashion.

The apartment was quiet. Max immediately knew Alec was not at home, because Alec and quiet did not go together. And though she didn't care to admit it, she didn't sense his presence. She had developed a sort of sixth sense when it came to Alec and seemed always to know when he was nearby. Frankly, she found it a more than a bit disturbing and didn't like to think about it a whole lot.

She walked further into his apartment, wondering where he could be. He should have been done going over the weapons inventory with Mole a while ago. She unslung the bag from her shoulder and set it down on Alec's rickety coffee table. She inhaled and breathed in his lingering scent: the combination her mind classified as male, cat, and something more…something uniquely Alec. The more recent scent overlaid the older scent of him that permeated his living space; he had been here not too long ago and had apparently left again.

Max frowned as she pondered the reasons Alec had left. He was probably tomcatting around with Nila, the buxom blonde X-5 who had been throwing herself at Alec lately. _Tramp_. A heavy feeling settled in her chest as her mind conjured up images of Alec and Nila laughing, Alec using his Manticore-given charm on Nila, Alec and Nila tumbling down onto a bed…_no, don't go there_. _I could care less who he's out with._ _I could care less if he's out with Nila. I could care less… _Of course, it could be Gia, or Ivy, or Zev, or any of the other multitude of transgenic women that seemed to belong to the Alec fan club.

Max had never been around so many transgenics before, especially other transgenic girls. It had come as something of a shock that the other girls did not see Alec as she did, but quite the opposite. He was apparently considered the epitome of the X5 alpha male. They couldn't stop talking about him; all of the records he held at back Manticore, his amazing learning ability, his martial arts skills, his lips, his eyes, his muscles…ahem. These girls were obviously deluded. _Right_.

The other big difference she had noticed was the respect and deference the other transgenics showed Alec. They had been holed up in Terminal City a whole month before Alec was able to get people to quit calling him _Sir _and snapping to attention when he entered a room. He had been CO of a platoon before he had been assigned to deep cover solo missions--another shock. He had always put on such a devil-may-care attitude; she found it hard to believe he had been put in charge of an entire platoon. She had realized that she didn't really know a lot about Alec, and that she had never bothered to try to see behind his smart-aleck facade. She thought back to the night months ago when she realized just how very different he was from her perception of him.

_It had been a rough day of negotiating with the military, dealing with food shortages, fighting to keep the members of the newly formed council from beating each other into a pulp... On top of that, there was a minor mutiny, which was quelled by Alec, of all people. It seemed a lot of transgenics didn't trust an 09er. They didn't want her to be CO; they wanted Alec. She had been stunned when he had risen to her defense, refusing the position and fully supporting Max's leadership, convincing the others to back her as well._

_Overwhelmed by this turn of events, Max had done what she had always done in times of_ _crisis--she sought out the high place. The tallest building in TC had nothing on the Space Needle, but it would have to do. She sat on the ledge of the building, her hands wrapped around her knees, dark hair blowing in the breeze. She had been up there for about half an hour before she felt his presence behind her._

"_Thought I'd find you here." With casual grace, he joined her on the ledge. "Just thought I'd let you know that my contact came through. We managed to smuggle in a truckload of canned goods. Managed to snag you something." He held out a can to her, which he had already opened, plastic fork sticking out of the top. She didn't take the can, instead lowering her head to her knees_.

"_So you solved the food shortage, too. Great. _Just perfect_." She refused to look at him or accept his offering._

_Alec drew his head back, puzzled. "Are you mad at me because I got us some food? Because I did something _right_?" he asked incredulously. Max just shook her head, which was still on her knees. There was a long pause before Alec continued. "This is about earlier, isn't it? Listen, Max, you can't take it personal. Most of them don't know you, so they don't trust you. I'm just a familiar face, that's all."_

_Max's voice was muffled as she still didn't raise her head. "They think I'm a traitor."_

"_Like I said, Max, they don't know you." He nudged her with his foot, trying to get her to look at him. "Not like I do," he added softly._

"_I feel so useless. It's so hard, and I just feel like I'm tripping over myself at every step." Max finally raised her head, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. "But you...you got everyone talking to each other, you stopped the mutiny, you even solved the damn food shortage." _

_Alec laughed. "Well, I do have about ten extra years of training on you, Max. It was bound to come in handy at some point."_

_She paused to really look at him, as if she were seeing him for the first time. "You're so different than I thought you were..."_

_Alec looked away at this, staring at the skyline. "Yeah, well maybe you don't know me as_ _well as you think." He almost sounded hurt._

_Max couldn't take her eyes off his profile, which was highlighted by the moonlight. She had never really taken the time to notice how perfect it was. She had never taken the time to notice a lot of things when it came to Alec. "No. No, I don't."_

_Perhaps it was the moonlight, or the events of the day, that prompted Alec to open up to Max as stared off into space. "You know, when I got out of Manticore, it was the first time I wasn't responsible for others, that someone's life didn't hang in the balance based on my decisions. If I screwed up or made a bad choice, it only affected me." At this, he gave Max a quick sidelong glance and a smirk before looking away again. "Well, for the most part only me. I could be as reckless as I wanted to and no one would tell me no, no one would pay for my mistakes. It felt so good, to not have that weight on my shoulders. I guess I got kinda drunk on that first taste of freedom, and I went a little wild. I wanted more. I wanted to push the limits and see how far I could go, how much I could do, how free I could be. But freedom has a price, Maxie, and we should have known that sooner or later we were gonna have to pay."_

_They sat in silence for a while, both a bit surprised by Alec's speech. He turned back to Max, and held out the can again. Max gave him a small smile and accepted this time. "Thanks for having my back today."_

_Alec shrugged. "No big."_

_Max dug into the can, which turned out to be peaches. Her eyes rolled back in her head at the first taste of the sweet fruit and she made a little noise of pleasure. As she licked the last drops of juice from her lips, she found Alec staring at her, a strange look on his face. Dropping her fork back into the can, she reached over and smacked him upside the head._

"_Ow!" Alec feigned being hurt, and rubbed the back of his head. "What the hell was that for?!"_

_Max gave him her best cat-that-ate-the-canary smile. "Don't call me Maxie." _

With that, the status quo had been restored, and Max and Alec had gone back to their usual bickering. They had spent so much time working together in the past few months, it felt weird if she turned around and he wasn't there. Kind of like there was an Alec-shaped void that needed to be filled. It felt like she knew what he was thinking just by looking at him. Things had really changed between her and Alec, but she didn't like to dwell on it. That inevitably led to comparing it to how she felt when she was with Logan, which inevitably led to guilt that she was even making a comparison, and she was sick to death of guilt.

With a sigh, Max walked over to the bag she had dropped on the coffee table and opened it. She pulled out a video and two large bags of popcorn. Sketchy had really come through for her. She desperately needed some down time, and this was the perfect solution. She didn't think too hard on the fact that Alec had one of the few working TVs and the only working DVD player in Terminal City, or the fact that the movie she had requested just happened to be one of Alec's favorites. A girl had the right to chill, didn't she? If Alec just happened to be there, and if she just happened to have enough popcorn for two, well, there was no reason to read anything into that. She stuck the movie in the player, and then plopped down on Alec's couch with one of the bags of popcorn and hit play. She gave one last sigh as the opening credits rolled across the screen.

As the movie progressed, she found herself relaxing deeper into the couch. She grabbed a blanket Alec had tossed nearby and wrapped herself in it. Every time she moved, Alec's scent wafted up from the blanket. Her muscles began to relax, and all the tension drained out of her body. The scent was so soothing, so comforting. She felt completely safe, enveloped in the scent that was Alec. She fell asleep on his couch, wrapped in his blanket, a half an hour into the movie.

* * *

Alec trudged up the stairs of his apartment building, no hint of his usual swagger in his step. He had filled Dalton in on the plan for tomorrow night, then sent him off to catch some z's. He had tried to think of a way to keep the kid out of it without giving himself away, but he couldn't come up with anything. He was just too damn tired. He was ready to stop where he was, curl up into a ball, and sleep right there. _Come on, Alec, only one more flight. You can do it_.

As soon as he stepped into his apartment, he realized he wasn't alone. _God, what now?_ He tensed for only a second before realizing that his intruder was Max; he had become so familiar with her scent that he instantly recognized it.

Searching her out, he spotted her on his couch, blanket curled around her, hand tucked under her cheek. Alec moved silently over to the couch her and squatted down beside her, resting his elbows on his knees. The sight of her sleeping on his couch, looking so beautiful and peaceful, caused him actual physical pain. He may never get the opportunity to see her like this again. He finally realized that he was in love with the woman in front of him, and here he was planning to give her the means to be with another man. And the woman he was in love with was a vision. Her long, dark hair draped over her shoulder like silk, glinting in the light from the TV screen. Her skin looked so soft and flawless; he had an almost irresistible urge to rub his cheek against hers. And her lips…those full, lush lips. _Sleeping beauty…_

Without consciously realizing what he was doing, Alec drifted closer to Max, his lips coming closer to hers. He could feel her breath on his lips, just a little closer… **WHAM!**

The X5 flew backwards and crashed into the coffee table, smashing it to pieces. The purveyor of his flight was now fully alert and crouched on the couch in a defensive position, eyes flashing.

"Goddammit, Max, what the _fuck_?!" Alec shoved himself up out of the wreckage to a sitting position, hand going to his split lip, tongue sneaking out and tasting blood.

Max stepped off the couch to stand and loom over him. Hands on hips, she yelled back, "What the hell were you thinking, sneaking up on me like that!"

Alec had to struggle to stand and face her. He was running on fumes at this point, and the anger he had felt earlier in the day came roaring back. "This is _my_ apartment, Max!"

Max gave him the _whatever_ look and took a step towards him. "Phfft. As if that's any excuse for you gettin' up in my personal space."

Alec took a step closer to Max. They were now inches apart, neither wanting to be the one to back down. "What's the matter, Max?" Alec drawled as he walked around behind her and leaned in until his lips were right next to her ear. "Do I make you… uncomfortable?" His voice had deepened to a low rumble, and Max could smell the waves of testosterone pouring off him in his anger.

Max's traitorous body responded, her heartbeat quickening, her face becoming flushed. She could feel her blood pulsing through her veins as if it was on fire. _God, it was almost like when she was in heat._ Angry more at her response to Alec than at Alec himself, she elbowed him in the gut and began to step away. "Cut it out," she groused.

But Alec was no longer tired; his anger had chased away the fatigue. He was in the mood to fight.

He grabbed Max's arm and spun her around to face him. She took a swing at him, but he easily ducked and grabbed her other arm. He wrapped her in her own arms and pulled her so her back slammed up against his chest. She struggled against him, but he held her still. He rarely used his full strength against her, but he was in no mood to play her whipping boy today. He tightened his grip on her, a predatory smile on his face, and whispered in her ear, "_Make me_."

With that, the fight was on. With Alec holding her upper body tight, Max raised her legs up and hooked her feet behind his knees, sending them both crashing to the ground. They rolled over the remains of the coffee table and crashed into the side of the couch. Max had ended up on top, and she used it to her advantage, getting in several punches to Alec's face. Alec grabbed Max by the front of her shirt and bent his arms to draw her closer before pushing her away full force, sending her crashing across the room. They simultaneously rolled in opposite directions to their feet.

They circled each other, each sizing up the other. At some imperceptible signal between them, they launched at each other, a flurry of spins, punches, and kicks. They moved faster and faster until their fight became a blur. Max realized at some point during their frenzied battle that she was losing. Alec was too angry and he had lost control, and she had no idea why. At that moment, she knew that Alec had always held back before, that he was a lot stronger than her, and that the only ass that was gonna get kicked here was her own. The only way she had a shot was to fight dirty.

Before she could think of some underhanded move she could use against him, she found herself flung into the wall. Before she could recover, she saw him blurring towards her, his fist coming straight at her face. There was no way she could block it in time, and she seemed frozen in place. She couldn't move. Her only thought was, _Oh my God, this is gonna hurt_.

The next thing Max knew, there was a loud smash next to her left ear. Alec had altered course at the last fraction of a second and had slammed his fist through the wall, burying it past the wrist. Her eyes were as wide as saucers, and when she glanced up into Alec's face, she saw that his were as well. They were both breathing heavily, bloodied and bruised. They were motionless--Max frozen against the wall and Alec in front of her with his fist buried in it. Both of them were afraid to move, in case this might set off the other.

Alec blinked, coming back to himself. He looked down at Max, at the woman he loved. She had a several scrapes on her face and neck, and the skin over her left cheekbone was already turning and angry shade of red. He had done this to her. He had let his anger get the better of him. Again. It seemed like he was doing nothing but losing control lately.

Alec drew in a shaky breath and said the most profound thing that he could think of at the moment.

"Shit."

Alec slowly pulled his hand from the wall. He turned and walked robotically over to the couch and sank down, resting his elbows on his knees as he hung his head. He had thought earlier that there was no way this day could have gotten worse. He was wrong. This had officially taken over as the worst day of his life.

He glanced up at Max, eyes full of remorse in a face that was as bruised and battered as hers was. "Max, I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm all right," Max whispered. She drew the back of her hand across her lip, wiping away a smear of blood. She noticed with fascination that her blood mingled with Alec's blood, which already covered her knuckles. Max hesitantly walked over and sat on the other end of the couch, tucking a leg under her. "What is going _on _with you today?"

Alec drew his eyebrows together; he looked confused. "I just... I don't..." He apparently gave up trying to explain, and buried his head in his hands. This worried Max--not only the action, but that he was at a loss for words. Alec was never at a loss for words. Words and Alec were best friends. The last time she had seen him so out of sorts had been during the Berrisford thing. What on earth could be causing him to act like that again?

She heard Alec draw in a deep breath. When he raised his head, his face was impassive--the well-worn mask of a Manticore soldier. "What the hell are you doing here, Max?"

He didn't want to talk about it. He wanted to brush the whole thing under the rug. Max could have pressed him, but frankly, she wasn't really sure she wanted to talk about what just happened herself. Time to retreat.

"I... uh... kind of wanted a little down time, so I got this movie, you see, and some popcorn, but you know, you have the only working DVD player in TC, so I sorta had to come over here to watch it, but you weren't here, you were out somewhere, and I didn't know where you were, so I figured I'd go ahead and watch the movie 'cause I didn't want the popcorn to go to waste, 'cause I figured you wouldn't mind, but I sorta got sleepy and I must have fallen asleep, 'cause I don't remember seeing the end of the movie, and that's when you came in, and I'm sorry I hit you, but you scared the shit out of me." The whole thing came out in one long sentence. _Great. Now Alec's weird behavior has me babbling._

Alec glanced over at the TV, where he saw the DVD had defaulted back to the menu screen. His heart gave a little stutter when he realized Max had picked one of his favorite movies. He remembered telling her about it a couple of weeks ago. He remembered her commenting that it was the dumbest movie imaginable, and why would anyone want to watch crap like that. Max had come to his apartment expecting him to be there, planning to watch a movie that she didn't even like, and had brought popcorn. Whether she admitted it to herself or not, she had wanted to spend time with _him_, not his DVD player.

Why did this have to happen now? Why tease him with the possibilities of what could be when it would all be over as of tomorrow. What had he ever done in his life to deserve this?

Alec almost asked Max to leave, but when he turned to look at her, there was such a look of concern in her eyes that he couldn't bear to do it. He couldn't give up these last moments he had with her. He gave her a small, boyish smile. "Is there any popcorn left?"

Max relaxed at this; Alec was offering her a truce. She walked over to his mini-fridge, rooting for something cold they could place on their bruises. Her eyebrows raised at the four bottles of beer stashed in there. She pulled two out, and grabbed the extra bag of popcorn on her way back to the couch. She handed Alec a bottle and the popcorn, then sank down beside him. They simultaneously applied the cold bottles to their wounds: Alec placing his against his split lip, Max resting hers against her cheekbone. Truce accepted.

Alec leaned forward to dig around in the wreckage of the coffee table for the remote control. He leaned back and hit play, then tossed the thing back down into the pile of broken wood. The sat in comfortable silence for a while. Alec finally leaned over and nudged Max with his shoulder.

"So, is this why you bailed on Dix?"

She turned suddenly at that, surprised that he had checked up on her. She turned back to the movie, uncomfortable with meeting his eyes. "Yeah. Had to meet my contact. Promised Dix I'd cover for him in Control for two nights to make it up to him."

She could almost feel Alec grin without even looking at him.

"You have contacts, Max?"

Max sniffed and gave Alec a sidelong glance. "You're not the only one with sources."

Alec was intrigued. Ignoring the movie for the moment, he crossed his arms and stared at her. "So who is it?"

"Shut up and watch the movie, Alec."

"Come on, Maxie, give it up. I promise not to reveal your sources. Spill it. Come on..."

Knowing that Alec would pester her until he got his way, she muttered under her breath. "Skcht..."

Alec leaned towards her, overdramatizing it as usual by putting a hand to his ear. "What was that Max? I didn't catch that."

"Sketchy, all right!" She threw some of her popcorn at him.

Alec bust out laughing, tears coming out of his eyes. He went on like that for almost five minutes before she picked up one of the couch pillows and chucked it at his head.

"Shut up and watch the movie, you ass."

"You know, you really need to do something about your obsession with my ass, Maxie. I think there might be a twelve step program I could get you into."

Max gave a little scream of frustration and plugged her ears with her fingers.

Satisfied that things between him and Max were somewhat back to normal, he turned his attention back to the movie. After a while, Max finally relaxed and pulled her fingers from her ears. She occasionally reached over to grab a handful of popcorn from the bag, her arm brushing lightly against his. Alec swallowed and blinked several times, his eyes suddenly burning.

If only things could always be like this. If only he hadn't answered his phone earlier when Logan called.

If only tomorrow would never come.

* * *

A/N: In case you hadn't noticed already, I love flashbacks. And commas. Forgive me, sometimes I get a little comma-happy. And just to give you a hint of what's coming, the next chapter is called FUBAR. Draw your own conclusions.


	6. Ch 5: FUBAR

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: If you have already read this far (and thank you, by the way), I think you are completely aware by now that I do not own Dark Angel and have not seen nor plan to see a dime for this story.

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

A/N: Warning for this chapter: language, violence, bloodshed, you name it. If you have a problem with that, you better stop right here.

Hold on to your hats, people.

* * *

Chapter 5: FUBAR

Dalton checked his watch for the third time, back pressed to the wall of the sewer, his black clothes helping him to blend into the darkness. Alec was now eighteen minutes and forty-two seconds late. When Dalton himself was a minute and a half late to the rendezvous point, he was nervous--afraid Alec was going to give him hell. When Alec was seven minutes late, Dalton was irritated--Alec must have told him about a dozen times not to be late, and then _he_ decides not to show on time. When Alec was twelve minutes late, he was suspicious--maybe Alec was testing him, to see how he would handle a glitch in the plan. But now Dalton was downright concerned. What could have happened that would cause Alec to be this late? If he didn't show soon, they'd most likely have to scrap the mission.

Dalton made several false starts back toward the entrance to the sewers, unsure of his course of action. He checked his watch again. _Damn_. There was a very small window of opportunity when you could slip in and out of this sewer entrance without the TC Border Patrol spotting you (as long as you had transgenic speed, anyway), and he had just missed it. He had no way to contact Alec yet, because Alec was supposed to bring the radios. He whispered a vehement "_Fuck_!"

Dalton sensed movement behind him a millisecond before receiving a smack to the back of his head. He spun and saw Alec standing behind him, looking flushed and a bit out of breath. He had a strange look on his face--almost like...anguish--but it was replaced so quickly with Alec's trademark smirk that he figured he must have imagined it.

"Watch the language, kid. Gem'll string you up by your ears if she hears you talkin' like that. Then she'll kick my ass for bein' a bad influence."

Dalton frowned and ignored this comment. Gem would make the most hardened marine blush with the colorful language she used when she got on a tear. Even though he viewed Alec with a sense bordering on awe, he also knew that a lot of times Alec just said things to hear himself talk.

"Where have you been!" Dalton said in a harsh whisper. "You hassled me and hassled me about being on time, then you're the one who's late! I've been waiting here for over fifteen minutes! I was just gonna…" Dalton's voice started to get louder at the end of his tirade. Eyes widening slightly, Alec stepped up and clapped a hand over the X6's mouth, raising a finger to his own lips and flicking his eyes back toward the entrance to the sewers.

When he was certain Dalton had gotten the message, Alec removed his hand and took a step back. Hoping he could get out of this without an explanation, Alec hitched his pack up a little higher on his back and started down the tunnel. After a second, he stopped and turned, realizing that Dalton was not following. The X6 stood there with arms folded and jaw clenched, spiky hair a bit messy from apparently running his hands through it repeatedly in frustration. Alec knew the feeling; his own dark blonde hair was in a similar state for the same reason.

Alec took a few steps back towards Dalton. "Look, I kinda got cornered by somebody and it took a while to get out of there." _No need to mention that somebody was Max. No need to think about the things I said to get her to leave, the hurt look on her face… _Alec closed his eyes at the painful memory. He needed to focus. He needed to stop thinking about Max and focus on the mission before he got himself or Dalton hurt. He cleared his throat. "This entrance wasn't clear, so I came in through the south-east entrance."

Dalton started at this. "But Zev's stationed at that entrance tonight…" Zev was the unit commander of the TC Border Patrol. The X5 was as fiery as her red hair and had eyes like an hawk… thanks to a little hawk DNA in her cocktail. There was no way Alec could have slipped by her.

Alec's head tilted to the side as he thought on that, hand coming up to the back of his neck to rub his barcode. "Yeah, well, uh… Zev kinda has a thing for me, so I said a few things she wanted to hear, used my natural charm, made a couple of moves…" He trailed off. At this last comment, Dalton gave him a wide-eyed stare. After everything he had heard over the past two days, he found it hard to believe that Alec would put the moves on anyone but Max.

"What?" Alec said defensively. He slung the pack off his back and dug around in it. "You gotta use all the weapons in your arsenal, my friend. _Fight dirty_. The sooner you learn that, the better." He pulled two radios out of his bag, checked the frequency, and then handed one to Dalton while clipping the other onto his belt. He paused then for a minute, giving Dalton an assessing look. "You know, you can still back out if you want to. I won't hold it against you."

Dalton shook his head. "I'm coming," he said with conviction.

Alec gave a sigh of resignation. "You just may end up regretting that decision. I've got a bad feeling about this." Alec started down the tunnel again, and this time, Dalton followed.

"What could go wrong? It's a simple job, you said so yourself. In and out." Dalton jogged a little to keep up with Alec's longer stride.

What could go wrong, huh? How many times had he asked himself that before? And how many times had things gone wrong? Too many than he cared to admit.

"Come on, then, kid. We're already behind schedule as it is." Alec took off running down the tunnel, making sure to keep his stride in check so Dalton could keep up. The two transgenics became a blur, unknowingly on a collision course with disaster.

* * *

Alec used a mirror to view the interior of the corridor outside the cold storage vault. Once they had made it to the warehouse where he and Max stashed their motorcycles, they had made excellent time to the building that housed Advanced Biomedics. They had stashed the bike behind some Dumpsters, then scaled the side of the building to sneak in through the roof.

He would never understand why the idiots that designed these buildings would make air ducts big enough someone to crawl through. Easier for repairs he guessed. Also easier for transgenic cat burglars to sneak into said buildings to relieve them of their valuables. He figured when all this was over, he'd owe the idiot designer of this particular building a beer.

He turned back to Dalton and signaled "clear" before lifting out the grate and dropping silently to the floor. A few seconds later, Dalton dropped through the grate as well to land in a crouch. The young transgenic stood and put his back to the wall opposite the vault entrance. Alec moved over next to the door of the vault to stand in front of its controls. He removed a couple of tools from his bag. Dalton kept watch with his enhanced vision as Alec loosened the control panel to expose its wiring. He stripped two of the wires, then used a small device to connect them. This would send the vault's alarm software into a continuous loop so it would not alert anyone to what Alec was about to do next.

He connected a mini-compu pad to the exposed panel, then began typing one-handed with transgenic speed. He first deactivated the retinal and hand-print scans, which took him about all of twenty seconds. He shook his head, small smile on his face. _Too easy_. Then he activated the program he had written earlier in the day to crack the safe's entrance code. _And Logan thought he was the only one with mad computer skills_. _Piece of cake._

After about two and a half minutes, the light on the hanging panel blinked a couple of times before turning a solid green. The vault door cracked open with a whoosh of cold, stale air as the seal was broken. At the noise, Alec glanced at Dalton, who signaled "all clear." With a few more hand motions, the X6 signaled to Alec that he was going to scout down the corridor. Alec gave him a high sign before slipping into the vault.

The temperature inside the vault was a frosty thirty-five degrees. Alec could see his breath puff in the air as he made his way inside. The wall was lined with glass-fronted refrigeration units, colorful liquids in bottles and vials glittering in the glow from the emergency running lights along the top of the walls. His heart beat wildly in his chest as he approached the storage units, and he found it hard to put one foot in front of the other. _No backing out now, Alec. You have to do this. You have to do this for her._

Teeth clenched, his hands forming white-knuckled fists, Alec took the last couple of steps over to the computer consolethat cataloged the inventory list for the vault. He flexed his hands a bit before tapping a few keys to bring up the main menu. With a couple of clicks, the location of the drug he wanted flashed in green on the view screen. It was right there in Section A4, Row 3: the thing he had been working all night to find, and at the same time, the very last thing he ever wanted to see.

Alec stepped over to section A4 and opened the glass door. There, sitting right under their noses all along in this pathetically insecure vault, was the cure. Alec reached in, hand slightly shaking, and removed the hard plastic cylinder that held the vial. He held it up to the light, turning it to watch as it glinted off the liquid inside, wondering how such a tiny thing could bring his entire world to a screeching halt. "The fucking cure," he said softly to himself.

Just as he slid the cylinder into one of the inner pockets of his jacket, his radio squawked. Knowing Dalton would never break radio silence unless something was wrong, Alec grabbed the radio from his belt, pressed the button to speak, and quietly said "Go" as he moved purposely back toward the vault entrance.

Dalton's voice came through the radio, all soldier--no trace of adolescent in his voice. "Rentals, closing from the south corridor, one hundred twenty meters." _Rentals_ was the code Dalton had chosen for the security guards in the building.

He should have known things were going too easy. "Mission accomplished. Rendezvous exit point Charlie, go now!" When Alec had planned this mission, he had arranged four possible exit routes in case things went sideways; Charlie was the freight elevator that led to the basement, where they could exit through the docking bays.

Alec suddenly heard the sound of gunfire from around the corner. He pulled his gun from the small of his back just as Dalton tore around the corner, coming to a skidding halt in front of Alec.

Breathing heavy, Dalton said in a panicked voice, "Agents!"

Alec's head whipped around to stare down the hall, searching for the threat. "What!"

Dalton waived his handgun towards the corridor he just came from, a bit out of breath. "Not just rentals…. NSA… hiding in one of the offices. Trap!"

Alec's blood ran cold. He grabbed Dalton by the arm and propelled him in the opposite direction. There was no time to exit the way they came in; the agents would be upon them before they were able to get back into the air duct. They blurred down the corridor, taking a right at the next intersection. The freight elevator was out, being back in the direction the gunfire had come from. They should be able to make it to the public elevators, from which they could gain access to the roof. As Alec prepared to round the next corner, his enhanced hearing picked up the sounds of men running from that direction. He came to an abrupt halt, arm out to bar Dalton from rounding the corner. He turned and made a few quick hand signals to Dalton. The boy swallowed hard, then nodded his head in agreement.

Four agents rounded the corner and held up in shock when they saw a teenage boy with spiky hair standing nonchalantly in front of them. The kid put an innocent look on his face before asking, "You guys know where the bathroom is?"

The one agent nudged his partner. "It's just a kid."

Another agent stepped forward, gun trained on Dalton. "Can it, Baker. He's one of those Trannie freaks. Even the kids know how to kill you with their bare hands." The agent took a menacing step forward. "Where's your partner, kid?"

Dalton waved his hands around a bit, trying hard to play the smart ass like Alec, hoping they wouldn't notice the sweat on his upper lip. "Oh, you know, he's _hanging around_." Dalton emphasized the last two words and let his eyes roam up to the ceiling. The agents followed his gaze.

Alec was splayed above their heads like a tension rod, hands on one wall, feet on the other. He dropped down from the ceiling on top of the startled agents, knocking one unconscious on the way down. He executed a perfect jumping spin kick to the head of another agent. Dalton proceeded to do a low spin kick and knock the lead agent's legs out from under him. He jumped on the man while he was down and delivered a chopping blow to his temple, sending the agent to dreamland. As the last man attempted to train his gun on Alec and prepared to fire, the X5 blurred toward the wall and then ran right up it, flipping backwards off it to land in a handspring right behind the agent. Alec caught the agent around the neck with his feet as he landed and whipped his legs over to fling the hapless man into the opposite wall with a loud thud.

Alec crouched in a defensive posture and glanced at Dalton, who was crouched over his own unconscious agent. Alec gave the kid a nod, letting him know he did a good job. Dalton drew in a shaky breath, then returned the nod.

No sooner than the fight was over, more men came pounding down the corridor, blocking the transgenics' path to freedom. Alec yelled out, "Fall back!" He and Dalton blazed back down the corridor, headed back toward the vault. Alec had the uneasy feeling that they were being herded.

They ran past the vault, then backpedaled as a hail of gunfire came from the other end of the corridor. Alec shoved the vault door open wide so he and Dalton could dive behind it for cover. Bullets pinged off the other side. Alec leaned around the edge and returned fire, all the while muttering, "shit,shit,shit,shit," under his breath.

Dalton suddenly cried out "ALEC!" and started firing back down the other side of the corridor. They were boxed in, and they had no cover from the agents at Dalton's end.

A bullet whizzed by Alec's ear, a little to close for comfort. "Into the vault!" He grabbed the X6 by the arm and practically flung him through the opening. Alec quickly followed, pulling the door shut behind him. It wouldn't hold them for long. Alec quickly went to the computer catalog, furiously typing, looking for something that might save their asses.

Dalton stood by Alec, confused. "Alec, what the...?" His voiced cracked from strain, but Alec thought the kid was holding up pretty well.

Alec raised a hand and pointed a finger at Dalton while still typing with the other, never taking his eyes from the screen. "Shut it! No questioning me, remember?" Alec suddenly stopped, eyes widening. He had found exactly what he wanted. He quickly went over to one of the storage units, leaning in to rummage a bit through the shelves before he found what he wanted. Twisting the top of the cylinder, he held the fragile glass vial in his hand. As the vault door swung open behind them, Alec spun around, holding the vial down at his side, behind his leg.

Two men dressed in suits stepped in to the vault, while two more waited outside. Alec heard the men outside radio to his fellow agents to fall back to the command station, which seemed strange. _Four men against two super-soldiers? The odds weren't in their favor. _As the two men stood inside the entrance to the vault with guns at ready, the hairs on the back of Alec's neck stood on end. He now understood why the men outside had called the other agents off.

"_Familiars_," breathed Alec.

Dalton's face turned white. "Oh, shit."

* * *

Agent Ames White surged through the reception area of the Advanced Biomedics building, trench coat billowing out behind him, two of his fellow Familiars close on his heels. After months of waiting, he finally had two of the transgenic filth within his grasp. The thermal surveillance he'd had in place on this building had picked up two of them entering the building. The tech they had paid to leak the information about the cold storage vault had apparently done his job.

He wasn't going to let them get away this time. He hoped that bitch 452 had the guts to show up herself. He had spent long hours thinking about the various torture methods that he would use to make her give up the location of his son.

One of his men behind him put a hand to his earpiece, listening to a report from one of their men already inside. "Sir," he addressed White, "Sheppard reports that they have two of the animals trapped in the cold storage vault on sub-level one."

White turned his head slightly to answer back, never breaking his stride. "Have all regular agents pulled back to the perimeter?"

"Affirmative. Only Familiars remain."

White rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Excellent."

* * *

Alec hoped his plan would work, because if it didn't, he and Dalton would be very, very dead. There was no way that Dalton could take on a Familiar with his adolescent body, and Alec certainly couldn't handle four at once. A voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Max snarkily reminded him that the last time he had fought a Familiar, he couldn't even handle fighting one, and a girl at that. He testily told the voice in his head to shut up, that he had been shot, bleeding for hours, and had a fractured humerus--all of which could screw with a guy's fighting skills.

He heard one of the men outside the vault reporting the situation to his superior. _Shit. The meatnecks had reinforcements coming._ Alec offhandedly listened to the agent's report, concentrating on the two Familiars inside the vault with them, until he clearly overheard the word "White." _Fuck! Could this job _go _more sideways? _

They were out of time. Alec had to make a move, and he had to make it now. The vial he held in his hand had been a last resort, and it looked like the time for last resorts had come. He casually nudged Dalton behind him, hoping to provide cover for the kid.

"You know," Alec said, plastering the cockiest smirk he could manage on his face, "it's obvious that you boys don't realize that you are up against a far superior race."

The agent on the left frowned, his face reddening as he tightened the grip on his gun. "Shut up, animal."

Alec continued, hoping to fire them up a bit. "I know, I know. You boys have, what, a thousand years of selective breeding on your side? Build a bigger, stronger human. I get it. I really do. Must have not been too concerned about looks or brains, but hey, one thing at a time, right? Now, the genetically empowered--just my little pet term, don't mind me--we are the complete package. Strength, speed, intelligence, good looks, obviously…"

The two Familiars in the room looked ready to shoot him. If there was one thing that Alec was really good at, it was pissing people off. "…_and_ we're damn near immune to just about anything."

Satisfied that he had the two Familiars riled up enough that their reaction times would be off, he shook his head. "You fellas aren't too bright, are ya?" With that, Alec whipped the glass vial--containing one of the more wicked viral agents Manticore had ever cooked up--at the floor just past the men. As it shattered and the liquid inside immediately turned into a gaseous state, Alec grabbed Dalton and dove for the floor. The men at the door got off two shots, one of which grazed the back of Alec's head, before the deadly agent dispersed into the air and began to work its lethal magic.

The two Familiars inside the room dropped their guns and backed out into the hall, but to no avail. The gas had quickly spread; there was no escape. Alec watched in horror as the four men in the hall began clawing at their cheeks and throats, leaving bloody streaks as they tore the flesh away. Blood began gushing from their eyes and nose, and then their mouths. The men fell to the floor one by one, bodies wracked by involuntary spasms, losing all control of bodily functions.

Alec and Dalton slowly rose from the floor, staring in shock at the carnage. Alec winced. Even an enemy didn't deserve to go out like that, but he'd had no choice. His hand went to the back of his head, checking his wound. _Just a scratch. _Giving himself a quick shake, he started out the door. "Come on, Dalton, we gotta blaze."

Dalton couldn't move. He couldn't take his eyes of the ruin of bodies on the floor. Only when Alec sharply called out his name again did he blink and come back to himself. He swallowed around the lump in his throat and followed Alec out into the hall.

They ran down the corridor, heading for their last exit route--the emergency stairs to the roof. Luck was not on their side, however, as Agent Ames White and his cronies rounded the corner directly in front of the transgenics, guns already trained on them. Alec and Dalton slowed to a halt, once again at an impasse.

Alec transferred his weight to the balls of his feet, but White spotted this and cocked his gun. "Don't even think about it. I will not hesitate to put you down like the animal you are. Drop your weapons."

Realizing they had no choice, Alec and Dalton complied, dropping their guns to the floor. White gazed at the transgenic pair, the look on his face clearly indicating that this was not what--or whom--he expected. "Well, well, well. 494. I must say, I was hoping that 452 would have the guts to show up for the cure to that nasty little virus your Manticore doctors were so kind to infect her with. But you're almost just as good. You'll serve as bait to get her to come out of the woodwork. Wherever 494 goes, 452 never seems to be far behind." White gestured to Dalton with his gun. "Who's the cub?"

Alec took a step closer to Dalton, directing a murderous look toward White. He clenched his teeth, trying desperately to keep any smart-ass comments to himself. He could tell that White was in the mood to play, and that was definitely _not _good.

"What's the matter, 494? Can't keep your bitch in line? She sending you out with little kiddies as backup, now? I guess you really have taken a back seat to Cale."

_Okay, to hell with keeping smart-ass comments to yourself_. "What's the matter, White?" Alec smiled his most brilliant smile, eyes flashing. "You need your pretty little body guards to keep you safe from the big bad kitty? I thought you boys were supposed to be the superior race and all? Afraid you can't take me without all the hardware? Come on." Alec made a _come here _gesture with his fingers. "_Fe'nos tol, bitch_."

White cocked his head to the side, a smug grin on his face. "If you are determined to be beaten bloody, I'll be sure to oblige you. But first, I think I'll ensure that the little cub won't join in the fray."

White turned his gun on Dalton. Alec's eyes dilated, leaving barely any hazel-green around the edges. Time slowed as he as he saw the bullet propel from the end of the gun. In a burst of speed unnatural even for a transgenic, he pushed Dalton out of the way. A searing pain blazed through him as the bullet hit him high in the chest on his right side. The bullet came to a sudden halt as it hit his shoulder blade and fractured it, then ricocheted, lodging somewhere above his collar bone. Both Dalton and Alec crashed to the floor, Alec grunting in pain as they hit.

_There is no pain, there is no pain_. Alec chanted this repeatedly in his head. If he succumbed to the pain, they were both finished. He rolled toward White and his men while simultaneously reaching for the backup piece he carried in an ankle holster. He fired several rounds wildly, hoping to get the Familiars to dive for cover and give him and Dalton time to regroup. He wished he had thought to switch his gun to his left hand, because the recoil sent a flare of agony through him with each shot.

By this time, Dalton was up and had managed to recover his own weapon from the floor. He began to take aim at the Familiars when Alec yelled from the floor, his voice gruff from pain.

"Shoot the lights, kid!"

Familiars did not have the enhanced vision that the transgenics had. Dalton immediately shifted his aim and fired, taking out each one of the corridor's emergency lights. They were suddenly bathed in almost complete darkness. One of the Familiars, however, had apparently pinpointed Dalton's location and came flying through the darkness, kicking up and bringing his leg down on Dalton's arm, sending the gun skittering away into the darkness. He then grabbed the X6's arm and flung him into the wall. Dalton thought he felt a rib or two crack. Ignoring it, he sprung away from the wall and launched himself at the enemy. The man must have outweighed him by almost a hundred pounds; he would have to play this smart if he wanted to come out of this in one piece.

Alec had just drawn a bead on White when the Familiar kicked the gun out of his hand. Alec grabbed the man's foot and shoved upward, sending him flying to the ground.

The X5 rolled and came up on one knee, breathing hard. His right side was sticky with blood and felt like it was on fire. _How was he ever going to fight like this_? He spared a moment to glance at Dalton, who seemed to be holding his own for the moment. He remembered the advice he had given Dalton in the sewer tunnel--it seemed like forever ago. _Use all the weapons in your arsenal. Fight dirty_. He reached into his other boot with his left hand and pulled out a wicked-looking knife. He rose to his feet with slow deliberation and stalked toward the enemy.

Knowing that even with a bullet wound, 494 had the advantage in the near darkness of the corridor, White quickly regained his feet and backed down the corridor until he stood under the faint red glow of an emergency exit sign. It wasn't much, but it would have to do. Let the animal come to him.

* * *

Thanks to the darkness and his transgenic speed, Dalton was able avoid most of the Familiar's blows. He used a hit and run tactic, dashing in to get in a kick or punch, then blurring out of the man's reach. Unfortunately, this didn't always work. Dalton now sported multiple bruises and a nasty cut over his left eye, which had covered the left side of his face in blood. Head wounds always bled like a bitch. _Time to try some new tactics_.

The young X6 blurred past the Familiar, close enough for the man to feel him pass. He crashed through the door on the opposite wall, grabbing the handle as he flew by to use it to swing himself around behind the door. The Familiar barreled into the room after him, clearly underestimating his quarry. As the man passed in front of him, Dalton kicked out with all his might at the man's knee, making contact with a resounding crack. The guy may not have felt the pain from the blow, but it still caused him to fall backwards as his leg buckled under him, head landing at the door's threshold. Dalton didn't hesitate. He threw all of his weight against the door and slammed it against the man's head, knocking him out.

He stepped over the body and out into the corridor, quickly scanning the area. He spotted White's other man lying on the ground in a small pool of blood, either unconscious or dead, Dalton wasn't sure which. Apparently, one of Alec's wild shots had taken the man out. He scanned further down the hall and spotted Alec advancing toward White. But with Alec wounded, he was going to need help. Dalton took one last glance at Alec's back, silently wishing him luck, before tearing down the corridor in the opposite direction.

* * *

White waited for his prey, grinning in anticipation. His grin faltered a bit as he saw 494 slowly step out of the darkness, bathed in the dim red light, movements sinuous in a way that humans were just not capable of. The look on his face was completely feral; 494 had embraced his inner animal. The red light glinted off the beads of sweat on the X5's face, off the blood steadily dripping down his right hand to lightly plop on the floor, and off the deadly sharp knife that he gripped in his left hand, held down by his side. It was as if he had just stepped out of someone's worst nightmare.

Ames quickly rethought his decision of fighting 494. It would be best to just end it here and now. It really was beneath him to fight such an inferior creature, anyway. He raised his gun to put a bullet in the transgenic's heart, but suddenly 494 blurred and was upon him.

Alec saw White raise the gun. It appeared the man was no longer in the mood to play. That was fine by him, because frankly, Alec was done playing. He blurred to close the distance between them, coming inside White's aim so the man's gun was pointing past him. Alec drew his knife up in a vicious slash, cutting across the tendons of White's gun arm. The weapon fell to the floor, White suddenly incapable of holding on to it.

The Familiar backed away from two slashes of Alec's knife, receiving a slash across the chest when he wasn't quick enough. He blocked the next swipe and grabbed Alec's wrist, twisting it to either break it or cause the transgenic to flip into the wall. Alec didn't fight the flip but went with it, feet connecting with the wall and running down it to land on the other side of White. Just as his feet hit the floor, White drew back his arm and slammed his elbow into Alec's face. Alec's head whipped back, eyes glazing over for a second, as pain shot through his cheekbone, the skin over it spilt and bleeding. He could feel the blood flowing freely now from the wound in his shoulder, his energy flowing with it. He needed to end this before he ran out of bodily fluids.

He dropped and spun, drawing his knife across the back of White's ankle, severing his Achilles tendon. The Familiar fell when he tried to take a step, his leg no longer able to support his weight. As Alec's luck had seriously sucked for the past two days, of course Ames White came crashing down right on top of the X5.

They rolled across the floor, White's hand wrapped around Alec's wrist to keep the knife away from his vital organs. He used his other grab Alec's wound, thumb digging in cruelly. Alec ground his teeth, refusing to give the bastard the satisfaction of crying out. He brought his forehead down and smashed it into White's nose, hearing the crunch as it broke, gushing blood.

The battle for supremacy seemed to be at a stalemate until Alec managed to stop their roll with him on top just as he managed to free his wrist from White's grasp. He sank the knife deep into the Familiar's side. A moment after he did this, it seemed the whole world turned white, as if the dark corridor had suddenly become a negative.

The reason White had released Alec's wrist was so he could reach for the snub-nosed .38 he kept at the small of his back. The bullet ripped through the right side of Alec's chest, tearing through his lung. His eyes went wide and his face slackened. He tried desperately to keep a grip on the knife, but found his muscles failing him. His body had finally had enough and acknowledged defeat, even if his mind stubbornly refused to agree with that assessment. White gave him a mighty shove, and Alec flew off him to land against the opposite wall. He slowly slid down it, ending up in a heap on the floor. Blood immediately began to pool underneath him, appearing almost black in the dim red light.

Alec tried to draw in a deep breath, but it was as if there was nowhere for the air to go, that his chest was incapable of expanding to accept it. He hoped Dalton had been able to make a break for it, because it looked like this was definitely going to be Alec's final resting place. His eyes wanted to roll up into his head, but he fought to keep them trained on White. If he was going to die, he was not going to back down from it. He would look death in the face as it came. _He was not afraid_.

There were so many things he regretted in his short life. So many things that he had done--been forced to do--that lay heavy on his soul as his lifeblood pooled on the floor. Even with all that he had done, what he regretted the most was that he would die without ever seeing Max's beautiful face again. That he had said such horrible, untrue things the last time he saw her. That he would go to his grave with nothing but her hatred to accompany him. That he hadn't even been able to give her the one thing that might make her happy... the cure.

White struggled to bring himself to a kneeling position, his one foot dragging uselessly. He pulled Alec's knife from his side without even flinching. One hand pressed to the wound, he once again trained his gun on 494. The transgenic just stared at him, apparently lacking the energy for anything else.

"Well, 494. I think we have proven which of us belongs to the superior race. I'll be sure to send your body back to 452. In several little boxes." Ames lined the sites of his gun on the center of Alec's forehead. "Say goodnight, 494."

Before the words had even finished leaving the Familiar's mouth, a small round object rolled out of the darkness, coming to a halt directly in front of White. Alec saw this and tightly closed his eyes a split second before the flash grenade went off. It filled the corridor with brilliant white light.

Ames raised his forearm to cover his eyes, but he was too late. While he was disoriented, Dalton came flying out of the darkness, swinging a heavy microscope directly into the side of the Familiar's head. The man crashed to the ground, unconscious. Dalton grabbed White's arm and pulled him toward the nearby emergency exit door. Slinging Alec's bag, which he had run back to retrieve, to the ground, he removed a pair of handcuffs. He slapped one cuff around White's wrist, then raised that arm so he could attach the other end to the bar on the door. With the enemy secured, Dalton turned to look at his comrade. What he saw caused him to suck in air through his teeth.

Alec's chest was a bloody ruin. If he had been an ordinary, he would have surely been dead by now. But Alec was anything but ordinary, and if Dalton could just get him back to TC, there was a chance that he would make it.

Alec glanced up at Dalton, only able to move his eyes, and gave the kid a weak smile. "Good move...kid." His words sounded thick, his voice deep.

Dalton knelt beside his fallen hero. "Thanks." His voice was choked with emotion.

"Call...base."

Dalton frowned and ducked his head. "I can't. My radio was broken in the fight, and I can't find yours."

Alec gestured slightly with his head, trying to indicate the interior pocket of his jacket. "Take the...cure...and go.... I'm ... ... finished."

Dalton shook his head furiously at this. He grabbed Alec's arm and tried to drag him up. "No. I'm not leaving you behind. That's Max Law Number Four, remember?" He sniffed. "No one gets left behind."

Alec let out a slight whimper as Dalton tugged on his arm. He was so tired. He just wanted to stop. He closed his eyes...

Dalton tugged harder on Alec's arm, starting to panic. No way would he leave his friend behind. "Dammit, Alec, I am not leaving here without you, you bastard, so unless you want White and his crew of meatnecks to kill me too, you better get your ass off the floor right now!"

Alec looked up at this, staring into the young X6's eyes, reading the brutal honesty there. He sucked in as deep a breath as his damaged lung permitted, and then allowed Dalton to help lever him off of the floor. What did it matter if he died here, or on the streets of Seattle, or back in Terminal City? The end result would be the same.

Dalton dragged Alec down the hall, supporting the taller man as best he could. They managed to make it up the stairs to the ground floor without incident. The X6 paused a second to get his bearings, then pulled Alec down the hall and into an office. Leaning the wounded man against a desk, Dalton looked out the window on the far wall. Jackpot. He could see Alec's green motorcycle still hidden behind the Dumpster, about ten or twelve yards from the window. He reached into his pocket for the shaped charge he had stashed there, slapping it onto the reinforced window. He grabbed a small detonator from his other pocket and inserted it into the plastique. He punched a few buttons, and then turned back to Alec, wrapping his arms around the man and shielding him with his body from any flying glass.

As the detonator beeped a final time, it exploded in a shatter of glass. Dalton dragged Alec to the window and unceremoniously shoved him out. He then vaulted over the ledge to land lightly beside him. He couldn't help himself from drawing a deep breath of fresh air, glad to be out of that damn building.

Alec was trying to rise, but not having much luck at it. Dalton once again helped the man gain his feet, stopping him from tipping over as he swayed dangerously. The X5's skin was swiftly taking on a ghastly pallor. Time was running out.

They made their way down the alley to the stashed motorcycle. Dalton helped Alec get his leg over the seat, then climbed on in front of him. He turned his head back. "You think you can hang on?" Alec's only response was a slight nod; the silence from his normally verbose friend worried him more than anything else.

Just as Dalton gunned the engine, a police car suddenly came screeching to a halt at the end of the alley. _Great. Just great. Sector police_. Dalton yelled at Alec to hold on before spinning the bike in a circle and taking off toward the other end of the alley. The car sped after them.

Dalton flew through the streets of Seattle, weaving in and out of traffic. The one police car soon turned into three. Dalton drove through a parking garage and came flying out the other side, barely avoiding an oncoming car. The police car behind him was not so lucky as it plowed into the car Dalton had just avoided. One down.

Dalton made a confusing series of turns down alleys and side streets. Soon all traces of a tail were left behind. They were in the clear. Unfortunately, they had also driven further away from TC. He took the next left and sped off into the night, pushing the bike as fast as it would go.

They were a half a block from the warehouse were the transgenics kept their vehicles stashed when he felt Alec slipping. Dalton frantically grabbed at Alec's arms, but the man's heavier weight began to tip the motorcycle to the side. The X6 let out a yell as the bike slammed on its side and skidded out, dragging the two transgenics with it down the road before it came to a stop.

Dalton pushed the bike off of them and levered himself up on his hands. His left leg was on fire, the fall having scraped most of the flesh from it. He limped over to Alec. At first he thought his friend was dead, but then he saw the thready beat of a pulse in his neck. He reached over and grabbed Alec by the edges of his jacket, pulling him up before delivering a stinging slap to his face.

Alec's eyes opened and blinked a few times at this. While Dalton had his attention, he looked him in the eye and planned to take Alec's earlier advice: _fight dirty_. "Alec, I swear to the fuckin' geek that mixed my genes up in a test tube, I will flush that cure down the fuckin' drain if you do not STAND UP RIGHT NOW! I will never give it to Max, do you hear me?! Never!"

This got Alec's attention. Anger lit his eyes as he used Dalton's body almost like a rope, dragging himself up by it. His hand rested lightly on Dalton's throat before his pain-wracked brain realized what he was doing. He gave a slight nod, acknowledging what the X6 had done. Dalton stepped in to Alec's unwounded side and slung the taller man's arm over his adolescent shoulders. As the two transgenics limped toward the warehouse, a sewer entrance hidden inside, they left a trail of blood in their wake.

Back in Manticore, Dalton had sometimes heard the guards or med techs talk about God. They believed that one supreme being was watching out for them, and that if they offered up enough prayers, God just might listen and grant their wish. Dalton didn't believe in God. There was no divine miracle that took place in _his _creation, just a bunch of wacked dudes in lab coats with an eye dropper and a test tube. But as he felt the man next to him slowly fade away, he swore that he would offer up any prayers necessary that would see his friend safely through this.

_Please, just keep him alive. Keep him alive long enough so that I can get him back home, so that I can get him the help he needs. He's a good man. He doesn't deserve to die. Please, just keep him alive..._

_Please._..

* * *

A/N: Whew! And I'm spent! Writing action sequences is hard work! Sorry this one took longer to post, but I made it extra long to make up for it (as if I had a choice…this one just drug me along for the ride). I hope this chapter lived up to its title. Please review and let me know.

If the part with Alec on the ceiling reminds you of Dazedizzy's recent chapter of The Love Boat (which I'm sure all you Max/Alec fans out there have already read), I just want to say now that it is pure coincidence. I wrote that part a day or two before Dazedizzy's chapter was posted. Honest. When I read that, I was like, _Dammit! Now I gotta change it_. But I like that segment so much that I just couldn't bear to do it. So we will just have to chalk it up to coincidence and leave it at that.


	7. Ch 6: Running Out of Time

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: Must I really say it again? Fine. I do not own Dark Angel. Happy now?

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

A/N: First things first, I would like to thank all of the wonderful people that reviewed my story. You guys really feed my muse and keep me plugging away at this. I'm glad you all liked the action in last chapter, because _Holy Mother_ that was hard to write. Also, thanks to everyone who expressed their appreciation for my characterization of Dalton; I've become really attached to him.

Okay, now let's take a step back. This chapter begins shortly before Alec and Dalton left for the mission and explains what happens at TC while they are busy fighting off Familiars. Sorry, but it had to be done. You'll just have to wait to see what happens to Alec. (Inzane ducks and covers to avoid any flying projectiles being sent her way.)

Warning: Language (because, apparently, my muse has Tourette's), some mild adult situations, and (_gasp!_) Mean Alec.

* * *

Chapter 6: Running Out of Time

_32 Minutes to Scheduled Mission Rendezvous…_

Alec stared out the window of his Terminal City apartment, gazing out into the evening sky, his head resting on the cool glass. It was a beautiful, clear night. The moon was full; it shone brilliantly in the Seattle sky, painting everything with its soft glow. His lips turned down in a slight frown. How could it be so damn beautiful out there when it felt like the entire world was crashing down around him? It was so fucking unfair.

He should call Logan back. He should call him and tell him to forget it, that him and Maxie were not a lie, and that he could take the fucking cure and shove it up his ass. But he couldn't. He couldn't tell him to forget it, him and Max _were_ a lie, and he wouldn't be telling Logan to shove anything into bodily orifices anytime soon.

And besides, he had smashed his fucking cell phone.

Alec turned back to his bed. He picked up the last piece of equipment they needed for tonight's mission and shoved it into his bag with a little more force than necessary. No more distractions. It was time to focus. He tried to find that zone that he had used when he'd been playing the true blue soldier back at Manticore--that level of detachment that let him separate his feelings from the job at hand. _Strange_. _It 's a lot harder than I remember_.

He sensed Max enter his apartment long before he breathed in her scent, which he had imprinted on the brain. Apparently, his Max radar was on high alert. He straightened and cast his eyes heavenward, a _why me _look on his face as he ran his hands through his hair for what was probably the hundredth time that night. _If there really is a supreme being up there, then He must really hate my guts with extreme prejudice. _Or maybe he had died, and he had been living in his own personal Hell for the past two days. Alec didn't really believe in Heaven or Hell, but hey, with the shit that had been happening to him over the past couple of days, it was enough to turn any man to religion. _Yeah, that's it. I'm dead and have gone to Hell. _

Alec looked down at the bag full of incriminating evidence on his bed. _Shit! _He grabbed the bag and quietly lowered it to the floor next to his bed. He then grabbed some dirty laundry from the pile in the corner that he loosely considered his hamper and used it to conceal the bag. No way Max would go within ten feet of his dirty laundry. _Hurry! Running out of time! Runningoutoftime! _He quickly shrugged out of his favorite black cat burglar jacket, which had plenty of pockets to conceal whatever gadget or weapon he chose to take with him, and tossed it toward a chair in the corner.

He gave the room a quick scan. It passed. As long as Max didn't frisk him for weapons, he was good. And that thought brought several other unbidden images to his head: _Max shoving him up against a wall, Max running her hands down his chest, slowly sliding them down his sides, her hands coming around to squeeze his ... aarrgggh! _Alec would have immediately walked over to his bathroom, stepped into the shower fully clothed, and set the frigid water to full blast if the object of his distraction had not chosen that moment to appear at his bedroom door.

Max came up short when she caught sight of her SIC, pausing mid stride in the doorway of his bedroom. Alec looked completely spun. There was only a hint of the bruises and cuts from last night's battle, thanks to transgenic healing capabilities. His hair stood up in spiky disarray, and he had a sort of panicky look on his face, which was a bit flushed. He appeared ready to bolt at the slightest provocation. It made him look like such a little boy, causing her to feel a tightening in her chest that she couldn't put a name to. Max had come up to his apartment prepared to tear him a new one, but the sight of him looking so _not himself _threw her for a loop, and everything that she had been planning to say as she stormed over from Command flew right out of her head. Alec had always been comfortable in his own skin, never once wishing that he could just been an ordinary guy. To see him so out of sorts was...disturbing, especially considering the events of last night.

Alec watched Max as she stood in the door, waiting for her to say something. _Damn, why did she have to be so beautiful? _Even with the mostly faded bruises and scrapes from their fight last night, she was still gorgeous. She had this puzzled look on her face, as if something she saw didn't quite compute. _Not good_. He had been hoping for a quick fight, maybe a few slaps around the head or a punch in the gut, and then she would march out in a huff and he could do what he had to do. But a puzzled Max was definitely not good. She wouldn't leave him alone until she got to the bottom of what was bugging her, and unfortunately, that appeared to be him. He had to shake himself out of this funk and show her some smart-aleckyness before she got too suspicious. _He was running out of time_.

"I know I'm hot, Max, but can you try not to stare?" _There. That sounded like something I would normally say, right? Shit. I don't even know anymore. I am so messed up. _

This comment apparently satisfied Max, though, because the look on her face changed from puzzlement to anger. _Ah, that's better. Bring it, Maxie. _Bring it.

Max took a couple of steps forward into his bedroom, which was as close as she was willing to get to Alec and a bed at the same time. She absolutely refused to look at his bed. Best not to think about Alec's bed...or Alec in his bed...or how Alec looked while sleeping in his bed. She wondered if he slept naked, then did a mental double take at the question. Her mind almost short-circuited as it flashed through images of Alec in various states of sleepy undress. _Whoa! Where the hell did that come from?! _She blinked a couple of times to clear the images from her head. _Dammit, get your head in the game, Max! You're pissed, remember? _She stuck one hand on her hip while she jabbed the other with a pointed finger back in the general direction of Command.

"You want to tell me why the hell you aren't working your shift? You were supposed to be in Command a half hour ago!"

Alec shrugged. "I switched with Luke. It's all good."

Max crossed her arms and tapped her foot at Alec's evasive answer. "You still didn't answer my question."

Alec drew his head back. "You checkin' up on me, Maxie? Didn't know you cared." He threw a bit of sarcasm into the last bit.

Max looked at him with scorn. "Don't call me Maxie. And I happened to be in Command filling in for Dix. I owed him, remember? As if I'd waste my precious time checkin' up on you."

_Of course_, Alec thought. _Of all the nights that Max could have picked to fill in for Dix, not only did she pick the night of the damned mission, it was the very same night that I am supposed to be pulling a shift_ _and bailed_. _This whole thing is going sideways already!_

Max just stood there, staring at him. He threw his arms out in a _what do you want from me _gesture. "What?! I got stuff to do, alright? Now if you'll excuse me, I got places to be." He tried to push past her, but she grabbed his arm as he passed and turned him to face her. A little voice in his head kept chanting _running out of time, running out of time_...

"Don't you walk away from me, dammit!" Max yelled angrily. She tensed her muscles, preparing herself for a possible repeat of last night's battle.

Alec stepped closer to Max, way inside her personal space bubble, teeth clenched and breathing hard through his nose. The instincts of a transgenic alpha male told him to take a swipe at her, to not let her push him around, to show her who was in charge here, but he pushed that back down into the depths with his other baser instincts. No matter what the people outside the fences said, he was not an animal.

He stared into her dark eyes, his own hazel ones echoing the anger he saw there. He had to get outta here. He was gonna be late. He had to end this now. He had to do something to get her to leave, and he had to do it now, now, now! _Running out of time_...

"You know, Max, I think this whole leadership thing has gone to your head," Alec said in a low, casual tone, adding just a hint of menace. "You may think you're the boss of me, but if you think you can make me do anything I don't want to, you are sadly mistaken..." Alec tilted his head and trailed a finger slowly down her neck and chest to stop at the neckline of her shirt, the tip of his finger resting lightly between her breasts. "... as I think you found out last night."

Max frowned at him and grabbed his hand, shoving it away from her. A line of fire ran down her chest where he had touched her. Something was wrong. Something had been very wrong since last night. As much as she liked to belittle Alec and bad mouth him in front of anyone who would listen, she knew that this behavior just wasn't like him. Maybe a bit like the Alec that had first been freed from Manticore, but not the Alec who had stood by her side these past months, had supported her when she was unsteady, had cheered her up when she was down. Not _that _Alec.

"What is _wrong _with you?" Max asked in almost a whisper, her eyes searching Alec's face as if she could find the answer there. "You've been acting so weird."

Alec kept his face impassive, while inside he was reciting a litany of swearwords that would have made Mole blush, had he been capable. _This was not working. Time to change tactics_. _When in doubt, go with something that she would expect of you._ He took a casual step back out of her personal space.

"Well, if you really must know, I'm planning to hook up with one of those sweet little X's that managed to sneak in last week. You know, the blonde one. What was her name... Claire...Chloe...Zoe? I don't know, something like that, but I do remember she had some great..." Alec raised his hands to his chest in a cupping motion and looked upward, as if recalling the details. "...assets." His hands made a small curving motion, as if he were imagining stroking those particular assets.

He shook himself, pretending to clear the image from his mind. He looked down at Max's assets and frowned, as if they suffered by comparison. "And you're really cramping my style here. I mean, last night, tonight..." he trailed off, hoping she would come to the conclusion he wanted her to come to.

Max just stared at Alec, dumbfounded. Sounds were drowned out by the blood rushing in her ears, and her face felt like it was on fire. This was not really what she expected. Well, maybe she should have expected it, as Alec had a history of being the biggest male ho around, but it was not the explanation she wanted to hear. Hell, she wasn't sure what she wanted to hear, but this surely wasn't it.

Alec forged on, his chest tightening in pain at the thought of what he was about to do to Max. "I didn't really wanna say anything, you know, rub your face in it and all, but you just keep hangin' around..."

Max fought to cover how much his comments hurt. He hadn't wanted her there, last night. He'd wanted to go and get his rocks off with some nameless girl (someone _else_, her traitorous inner voice filled in), and she had screwed up his plans. His plans to screw some poor naive transgenic girl barely off the proverbial boat. The bastard. Max finally found her voice.

"So, you bailed on your shift so you can go use your pathetic pickup lines on some random girl--oh, excuse me, _unique creature_--that you can't even be bothered enough with to remember her _name?!_"

"Who said we'd be doin' any talkin'?" Alec replied with a sneer. _Oh, fuck, she's gonna hate me. _"Just because _you _haven't been laid in–what is it?–almost two years doesn't mean that the rest of us don't know how to see to our own needs."

_Dammit, she wasn't leaving! _He needed to do something to make her uncomfortable. Something that would probably make her want to spit in his face.

Alec stalked around Max, using all of the grace of a big cat on the prowl. He leered at her. "Of course, maybe we could help each other out there, Maxie. You know, you scratch my itch...I'll scratch yours." Alec looked her up and down, advertising the fact that he was undressing her with his eyes. "You may be a bitch, but you're fairly hot, when you're not acting like such a prude. I imagine you could move my furniture."

_Something she would never forgive..._

In the brief seconds before what Alec did next, he had a furious argument inside his head as to whether or not he should really take it this far. Part of him screamed not to do it. But as he looked down into the face of the woman he loved with what had quickly become reckless abandon, he figured that this would be the one and only chance he got.

He grabbed Max around the waist, pulled her flush against his body, and kissed her.

Alec lost complete sense of everything around him. An army of Familiars could have burst through the door, and he wouldn't have even raised an eyebrow. The only thing that existed was Max.

_Oh, God, this was not how I wanted it to happen, if I ever got the chance to kiss her_. He wanted to tell her how much she meant to him, to run his fingers through her soft hair and breathe in her scent. But not like this. Not pretending to treat her like she was something to be used and tossed aside, that she was just a convenient way to meet his needs. He was never going to be able to complete the mission, 'cause this was gonna kill him.

Suddenly, Alec's eyes shot open as he realized with shock that Max was kissing him back.

_No, no! This was not the way it was supposed to go! Max was supposed to kick me to the door, not kiss me back!_ He knew he should stop, that he should push her away, do _something_, but when her lips parted with a sigh to give him access to her mouth, he was lost.

He closed his eyes tight against the moisture gathering there and buried his hands in her hair, sinking into the kiss. As Alec's tongue hesitantly met hers, the ache in his chest became unbearable. She tasted so sweet, like peaches and honey. When Max's hand came up to rest in a caress over his barcode, he deepened the kiss, unable to stop himself. Every second was glorious torture. He focused on just this one perfect moment, gathering it to him and holding on for dear life. Never had a mere kiss rocked him to his foundations like this one. It was perfect. _She _was perfect. And he had to let her go.

_Oh hell, I can't do this, I can't, I can't. Screw the mission, screw everything, just don't push her away!_

Even though Alec's watch was digital, he heard its phantom ticking in his brain. The little voice in his head kept repeating that damn mantra..._running out of time..._

He grabbed Max roughly by her upper arms and pushed her back. Her eyes were half closed, full lips a bit bruised from the friction. She just looked at him, a bit dazed. He felt something inside him break.

Alec heard his last comment to her echoing in his head. _I imagine you could move my furniture_. She had _no _idea. He quickly schooled his face to a condescending sneer, hoping that he had covered up his true emotions in time. He had to twist the knife, even if it killed him to do it. "...or maybe not. Guess I better meet up with Zoe after all."

Max just stared for a moment, blinking at him as the words took time to penetrate her brain. Alec saw her finally process what he said--saw the look of deep hurt flash across her face--an instant before her face became like stone and she gave him a huge shove, sending him flying across the room to crash into the wall.

Max looked him up and down, a look of pure disgust on her face. She didn't blink. Blinking might make the tears that were threatening at the corners of her eyes fall, and she would die before she would give him the satisfaction.

"As if you'd be man enough to scratch any itch of mine. I'm sure you wouldn't be able to handle it." With that, she flipped her hair over her shoulder, spun on her heel, and stalked out of his room, putting a little extra sway in her hips to let the fool know exactly what he was missing. Which was exactly the thing that Alec had been trying to get her to do since the moment she entered his room. So why did he feel like he had just made the biggest mistake of his messed up life?

Alec slowly slid down the wall to sit on the floor, head dropping in abject misery. He sat there for a moment with his head in his hands, breathing heavily, desperately trying to regain control of his emotions. He grabbed his hair tightly and pulled, as if the pain might help bring him back to himself. The little voice in his head didn't care for his pain. _Get off your ass, Alec. You're running out of time..._

With a sniff, Alec sat up and leaned back against the wall, forearms resting on his knees. His face lacked any trace of emotion, as if it had all drained out of him and he was no longer capable. He suddenly smacked his head back hard into the wall--once, twice, three times. A look of determination settled across his features as he stood. He retrieved his bag, slung it over his shoulder, then twisted his neck to each side to pop it. He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath and blew it out in a rush before walking toward the door of his apartment.

_Would it ever stop?_ His life seemed to be going from one terribly horrific moment to the next of late. He wasn't sure how much more of it he could take. Even transgenics had a breaking point. As he stepped out of his building into the clear, beautiful night, he figured that he'd better come back with the cure, because he was damn sure that he had just ruined forever any glimmer of a chance that he might have had with Max.

* * *

Max paced back and forth on the ledge of the building that had become her new high place, dark locks whipping around her. If she had been outside of Terminal City, someone would probably have already called the police and fire departments, there would be a crowd of people below looking concerned but secretly wishing that she would jump so they could see something shocking, and some idiot with a psychology degree from some half-assed community college would be up there with her trying to talk her out of killing herself. But this was Terminal City, and pacing the ledges of high buildings was a matter of course, especially for Max.

When she had first fled Alec's apartment, she had almost kept going right out of TC. The Space Needle called to her. She was actually within sight of one of the sewer access points before she stopped herself, remembering the time she had scolded Alec months ago for taking off on his own. This thought brought to mind that damn "Book of Max" that Alec and Dalton had spread all over TC and "Max Law Number One," which just added more coals to the fire of Max's anger.

She'd spent the first fifteen minutes on the ledge going through endless litany of colorful and derogatory epithets for the flaming asshole otherwise know as Alec McDowell, Second in Command of Terminal City. After she ran out of names to call him, she questioned his intelligence, certain of his inability to think with anything other than his downstairs brain. She then immediately questioned her own intelligence for allowing him to stand as her SIC in the first place. What had she been thinking? _Idiot_! She searched back through her memories for every slight, real or imaginary, that Alec had ever inflicted on her; she needed to keep her anger burning hot. If she focused on her anger, she didn't have to think about how much what he had said--_what he had done--_had hurt her.

The part that hurt the most is that what he said had been true. All of it. And the truth _does _fucking hurt.

It had been so long since she had been with a man. She ached at the thought of touching, of being touched, of being held in the arms of a man. She barely even remembered the last time, and that hadn't even been of her own volition--she had been a slave to her heat cycle then. _It had been so long_. She tried to remember a time when she had been with a man by choice, but it seemed too long ago. She was sure that she had never slept with a man for whom she had more than just passing feelings. _How pathetic was that_?

Maybe that was why she had allowed him to kiss her, why she had kissed him back. Must have been some primal instinct thing that took over, her body wanting what it had been denied so long. _Yeah, that's it. Not my fault. Not my fault at all_. As soon as she thought of that kiss, her mind immediately propelled her back, reliving the moment.

She had been shocked when he had pulled her against his body and kissed her. So shocked that she had failed to react, failed to kick him to the door like she had the first time they had met. Although she knew she should have railed against it, her mind was overcome with the feel of his hard body against hers. All X5 males were engineered to be well built, but Alec was pure genetic perfection. She tried to rebel at the thought that her body had fit so perfectly against his, as if they had been designed as two interlocking pieces, only becoming whole when together.

_And the kiss..._

Alec's lips had felt so soft against hers, and yet somehow at the same time they managed to set her aflame. She'd thought she might spontaneously combust right there. It was worse than when she was in heat, because she knew the desperate need she felt could not be blamed on hormones. Max had felt her body tightening in places that shouldn't have been tightening for Alec, and she knew at that moment with perfect clarity that she wanted him. Not the act that she had denied herself for so long. _Him_. It must have been temporary insanity. No way in hell she was accepting _that_.

_Or maybe you just quit frontin' and accepted the truth, _the voice in her head insisted, sounding suspiciously like Original Cindy's. Max told the voice to piss off.

Her mind must have been in the mood for a little torture, for it hit the rewind button, and she experienced the kiss all over again. This time, however, her mind apparently took the liberty to do some creative editing, because instead of Alec pushing her away, he began to kiss a path down her neck, hands roaming over her body. When this version of events led to Alec lowering her to his bed, Max smacked her fists against her temples to stop the playback.

"Stop it! You do not want him! You _do_ _not _want him, goddammit!"

Max crouched on the ledge and squeezed her eyes shut tight. This wasn't working. She needed to get out of here. She needed a distraction. Something to get her mind to quit playing the all Alec channel, all the time. Then she abruptly stood, eyes shooting open. _Shit_! She was supposed to be covering for Dix in Command. She had told Luke that she would be right back, that she had just wanted to find out why Alec bailed on his shift.

Hanging out in Command would take her mind off the jerk. The bastard. The asshole who must not be named…_no, scratch that_. She was changing his name to Dick. As of right now. Grinning slightly at the thought of informing everyone of his name change, Max jumped down from the ledge and headed off to do her duty. She vowed that she wasn't going to think about Dick for the rest of the night.

* * *

_16 Minutes to Scheduled Mission Rendezvous…_

Alec peered around the corner of the building at the southeast sewer entrance. When he caught sight of the two transgenics stationed at the entrance, he swore vehemently under his breath. Should have paid more attention to the duty roster. There--in all her flaming, red-haired glory--was Zev, the unit commander of the TC Border Patrol. _Shit_. There was no sneaking past her.

He had doubled-back to this entrance because the eastern entrance, where he was scheduled to meet Dalton, was blocked. A couple of Dix's techs appeared to be working on the camera system at that entrance. Must have been on the fritz. Since there was no way he would be able get past that crowd of people, he'd turned and headed toward the southeast entrance. The same entrance that was now currently being watched by the best pair of eyes in Terminal City.

He was going to have to use a different approach; sneak and creep would not work in this situation. Out of all of the skills that he had excelled at back at Manticore, the one that seemed to impress his handlers the most was his uncanny talent for the fine art of persuasion. Time to put those talents to use. He pushed himself away from the wall and relaxed his muscles into a casual, devil-may-care stance. Okay, ready. Using no stealth whatsoever, he ambled over to the sewer entrance, to all appearances just out for a casual stroll.

"Hey, Zev. What's shakin'?" He strolled right up to Zev, making sure he stopped close enough to her so that his body brushed hers. He did a slow, sexy smile and gave her a quick once-over with his eyes, sure that she would catch him doing it. All the while, he surreptitiously slid his bag to the ground and nudged it toward the tunnel entrance.

Zev smiled, a small dimple showing in her left cheek. She'd noticed Alec had just checked her out, and she was definitely pleased with the development. She didn't know what Max's problem with him was, because _damn_ the man was gorgeous. Half of the female transgenics--including herself–had been trying to get into his pants ever since they had been holed up here in TC, without any luck. It would be quite a coup if she would be the one to finally bag the alpha male.

"Nothin' much, Alec. Just the usual boring night in TC. Nothing ever happens round here anymore. A girl gets bored." She added the last bit with a little pout, inching closer to him.

Alec leaned in even closer, lowering his voice. "You know, I'd be happy to help you out with that," he said suggestively. The damn little voice in his read was screaming at him to speed this up, that he was running out of time_, _but he quickly clamped it down tight. _Shut up! I got this_.

Zev laughed, low and seductive, placing a hand on his chest. "I just bet you could."

There was a loud cough, followed by the clearing of a throat. Both Alec and Zev's heads turned as one to stare at the source of the interruption. Zev's patrol partner, a baby-faced X6 named Oscar (the kid had come up with that one on his own…_go figure_) stood there looking decidedly uncomfortable. Zev frowned at the X6. He may be one of the best on her border patrol crew, but right now, she wished he were anywhere but here.

"Hey, Oscar, how 'bout you run over to the mess hall and pick us up a snack? Alec here will cover for you while you're gone." Zev stared her partner down, letting him know that he damn well better get moving or else."

"Uh…yeah. Right." Oscar blurred away, glad for an excuse to get out of there.

Alec turned back to Zev and steeled himself for what he had to do. Not that Zev wasn't hot. A year ago he would have been jumping at the chance to get a girl like her into bed. It's just that she wasn't Max.

"Alone at last… I've gotta say, Zev, you look like a girl who knows what she wants. I find that extremely appealing." He grabbed a curl of her red hair, twirling it around his finger. "I'd like to get to know you better. I've got this terrible feeling that I've been missing out on something special." Inwardly, Alec cringed. He felt like such a bastard.

"You're damn straight you have." And with that, she grabbed him by the front of his jacket and kissed him.

For the second time that night, Alec's eyes flew open in shock as a girl kissed him. _Huh_. _He was shocked that a girl was kissing him_. It had obviously been way too long since he had gotten any. _Wait a minute, I'm supposed to be the one putting on the moves here!_ He suddenly realized that he was blowing it, and started to kiss her back. He fought to ignore the horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Zev could tell that Alec would have been one hell of a kisser if he put his heart into it. But she could tell that his heart wasn't in it. It didn't matter, though. She'd take what she could get for now. Even distracted as he was, he was still amazing. Zev wanted him, and she was confident that she could convince him to want her back. She'd never had any problems with any other male she'd set her eyes on.

She broke off the kiss, closing her eyes and licking her lips to savor the taste of him. She laughed a little. "You know, most of the girls around here talk about you, Alec, about why you won't be with any of them."

Alec covered his panic at this comment, replying evenly, "That's not true. I'm here, aren't I?"

"Yeah, you're here, but you're not really _here_. We're just not sure where you really _are_." At Alec's puzzled look, Zev just shook her head. "Sure, you flirt and talk a big game, but it never goes any further." She laughed. "Everyone figures you're either pining over a lost love, taken, or gay."

Alec pondered this for a moment, then realized that it was true (well, except that _last_ part, anyway). Max had a taken a hold on his heart, but she was most assuredly lost to him after what had transpired earlier. But he certainly wasn't going to admit that to Zev.

"Hey, a guy like me, second in command and all, I got a lot of responsibilities. I've hardly had time to breathe, what with our fearless leader crackin' the whip and all, much less spend time with a fine woman like yourself. I thought it was high time I remedied that."

At this point, the damned irritating, chanting voice in his head broke free and insisted that he was _running out of time, running out of time_, _runningoutoftime_… He couldn't stop from flicking his eyes to the tunnel entrance.

Zev, of course, spotted this. She then stepped back, taking in his attire, which was somewhat inappropriate for an evening stroll but the very latest in cat burglar chic. He had played her. Truth was, though, she didn't really mind.

She huffed and blew hair out of her eyes. "_Men_. You only lay it on this thick when you want something from us."

_Shit. He'd been made_. Alec pursed his lips, shuffled his feet a bit, and casually glanced at the tunnel entrance.

When Zev understood his intentions, she crossed her arms over her chest and jutted out a hip, her body language seemed to echo Max's. Must be a transgenic female thing. She cocked her head at him and asked, "What about Max Law Number One?" She saw Alec flinch slightly at the mention of Max's name. She gave a mental sigh. _So that was it._

Since Zev was already on to him, Alec decided to use a tactic that he rarely used on anyone, something that made him cringe at the mere thought of it: _honesty_.

Alec brought a hand to his chest, the gesture pleading. "Please, Zev, this is really important. I promise I'll owe you a month of duty on the border patrol, extra rations, anything, everything! Whatever you want, it's yours, just _please, _I need _to go!_"

The Border Patrol CO found her mouth dropping open at Alec's fervent plea. She was sure that whatever he was planning to do, it had something to do with Max, and that Max would definitely not be happy if she found out. But she found it impossible to deny the earnest look in Alec's green-gold eyes.

Zev huffed and rolled her eyes. "I didn't see a thing."

Alec's smile was so brilliant, Zev thought it would surely light up the night. He scooped up his bag, leaned in to peck her on the cheek, and whispered thanks in her ear. As she watched his retreating back as he took off down the tunnel, she heaved a disappointed sigh.

"You have no idea what you have there, do you, Max?" she muttered quietly into the night.

* * *

Luke glanced sideways for the fourth time at what he figured what the perfect specimen of transgenic female angst. She was going to drive him crazy. He wished she had spent the rest of the night chasing after Alec, because then she wouldn't be sitting here next to him in Command. Driving him fucking insane.

Max and Luke were seated at the surveillance station in Command. They were supposed to be monitoring TC's numerous cameras, staying alert for any intruders. Luke was diligently doing his job. Max, however, was chewing on the side of her nail and staring off into space, right leg repeatedly bouncing up and down. He would occasionally call out her name and look pointedly at her leg, and she would stop for a few minutes. But it wasn't long before it began bouncing up and down again. The transhuman could practically see the wheels turning furiously inside her head. He wouldn't have been surprised if he smelled smoke.

Max had hoped that going back to Command and keeping busy would keep her mind off Alec. To her dismay, doing surveillance was extremely boring work and left her mind plenty of time to wander. And it kept wandering back to that damn kiss.

She had never been kissed like that before. _Never_. Why had it felt so right, when her mind kept screaming at her that it should be so very, very wrong? How could it be possible that Alec could make her feel this way? She needed to figure this bitch out.

Max's thoughts finally turned to Logan. She felt a bit guilty that it had taken this long to think of him. She quickly shoved the guilt aside. She had vowed that she was done with guilt, and she meant to stick to that vow.

As she thought on the cyber-journalist, the supposed love of her life, she was somewhat startled by her lack of emotion. There were no deep pangs in her breast, no threatening tears or overpowering sadness. There was almost an absence of feeling. She frowned. It was as if they had been drifting apart so slowly, that she had become desensitized to the loss.

She thought back on her time with Logan, trying to resurrect her feelings for him. She thought on her last kiss with Logan and how it had made her feel. It had been warm and comfortable and safe. Not like the raging inferno of Alec's kiss. Nothing had ever compared to that.

Max felt a nudge against her foot, and her head jerked up to see Luke staring at her intently.

"Jeez, you're jittery tonight, Max."

Max drew up her legs and wrapped her arms around them to keep them still. "Yeah, sorry."

"Everything alright?" Luke asked, concerned. Even though she was driving him crazy, he was still worried about her.

"Yeah," Max replied, and then stared intently at the monitors, clearly ending the conversation.

Luke gave an exasperated sigh and went back to work. First Alec, now Max. When were those two gonna get a clue and realize they were just fighting the inevitable? He wished they would just get on with it so they would quit disrupting TC with their antics.

Max found her eyes un-focusing again as Alec's last words to her began to replay over and over in her head. He had implied that he didn't want her. But there had been a look that had passed over his face as he had pushed her away. A look of desperate longing, before it had changed into a sneer and he implied that she didn't turn him on.

_Liar_.

She'd heard his increased heart rate, had seen the blood rise to the surface of his skin in a flush, had smelled the heady scent of his arousal. His mouth had said one thing, but his body had been telling her something completely different.

Something wasn't right. Something was off. He had been acting weird since yesterday. That crazy fight. He had lost control, and that more than anything else scared her. If there was one thing Alec had, it was utter control of his emotions. He kept them bottled up so tight, she wondered if maybe he was finally ready to blow. Considering the glimpse Out-of-Control Alec she had during their fight, this knew that this could not be a good thing.

As she thought back on what had happened in Alec's apartment, she closed down her emotions this time so she could look at it from an unbiased perspective. He had seemed a bit eager for her to leave. Maybe he was up to something and had been trying to get rid of her. Since he was so evasive, it must be something she wouldn't approve of. He _was _dressed all in black. Maybe he planned to pull a job that was a little too questionable. Max was secretly pleased with this explanation; it was better than thinking that she didn't turn him on.

The OC-like voice in her head was back. _Girl, when you gonna quit livin' in denial. You got a thing for hotboy._

As she insisted to her inner voice that she did not have a thing for Alec, she noticed a group of transgenics on the surveillance cam practicing Tai Chi in the strip of open asphalt they fondly referred to as the "Quad." There were four girls and two guys. She recognized Gem, but the rest of the faces were unfamiliar.

Max leaned in, squinting to try to see their faces better. Pointing to the panel she was looking at, Max asked, "Are those the new refugees that came in last week?"

Luke glanced at the screen and nodded. "Yeah, that's them. I heard a couple were from Gem's old unit."

Max frowned. "That's all of them?"

Luke squinted at screen as well to verify. "Yep--three girls, two guys--the group from last week.

Max stared. One of those girls was the one Alec was supposed to be out with...right now. She stood suddenly, sending her chair crashing to the floor. Alec was up to something, and now she had proof. She turned to Luke.

"Hey, can you handle it on your own for a while?" She didn't even wait for his answer before she blurred out the door and right into Joshua's large chest. The big dog man grabbed Max's arms to steady her.

"Little Fella all right?" he asked in his endearing, broken English.

Max wrapped her hands around Joshua's wrists. "No, Big Fella, I'm not. Have you seen Alec?" When Joshua shook his head no, Max grabbed him by the arm and dragged the transhuman down the hall.

"I need your help, Big Guy. I think Alec might be in trouble."

Joshua stopped in his tracks, causing Max to stumble a little. "No, no, Alec behave himself now, not go looking for trouble."

Max tugged on Joshua's arm to get him moving again. "Yeah, well, trouble has a way of finding him."

* * *

Max and Joshua had spent twenty minutes asking around after Alec. When was the last time anyone had seen him? Did anyone hear him say anything that might give a hint of what he was up to? They checked his usual hangouts, but he was nowhere to be found. Striking out on all fronts, they decided to take a look at his apartment. The only thing they found was the remains of Alec's smashed cell phone in the trash--one more piece of an increasingly complex puzzle.

They tracked down Mole next. Besides Max, Joshua, and Dalton, Alec's constant shadow, Mole was Alec's next closest friend, although both transgenics would prefer to face Familiars on PCP than admit it. Max barged into the armory, sure that Mole would be there.

"Mole. We need your help. Alec is missing."

Mole chewed on his cigar and continued to clean his favorite shotgun, feet propped on the table. "Bail on his shift again, did he?" Mole replied in an unconcerned voice.

"No. Yes. I mean, yes he bailed on his shift, but he is missing. He's not anywhere in TC. I think he's up to something, and if that's the case, we're gonna need all the help we can get. Come on..." Max turned and started to walk back toward the door.

Mole smacked his shotgun down on the table and brought his feet to the floor. "Look, I'm not in charge of keeping track of pretty boy transgenics. He's probably playing hide the salami with some chick."

Max turned back, determination on her face. "Mole, I'm telling you, something is wrong. I know it. Too many things just don't add up. He's in trouble, I tell you, and as his friend, I know you want to help us out on this one."

Max and Mole had a brief staring contest. Mole liked to put on a gruff, don't-give-a-shit exterior, but he stood up for his friends. He surged to his feet, flipping the shotgun up to rest on his shoulder.

"Well, I guess I really wouldn't want to miss the show when he lets you kick his ass." Mole was fully aware that Alec allowed Max to pound on him on a regular basis. When he had asked Alec once why he did it, Alec had simply replied that if it made her feel better, what were a few bumps and bruises?

The three of them headed back to Command, planning to take a closer look at the surveillance recordings. When they cut across the Quad to save time, Gem ran up to them with a questioning look on her face.

"Hey, have you guys seen Dalton around anywhere? He was supposed to help me out with Libby tonight, but he bailed on me. Said Alec needed him for something, but I checked his place and they weren't there. He'd better have a good excuse. If you see him, tell him I'm looking for him."

Max, Joshua and Mole each shared a silent, concerned look. Now Dalton was in the picture. _What the hell were they up to? _

As the three continued on their way to Command, picking up the pace, Max said quietly, "We need to find him."

She had the strangest feeling that they were running out of time.

* * *

They had been going through surveillance footage for over a half an hour, without any luck. Alec had been one of the best at Manticore for a reason. If he didn't want to be seen, they wouldn't see him. Max ran her hands through her hair in frustration, then banged her forehead on the table.

Mole paced behind her, already on his third cigar. "Look, Max, there's nothing there, okay? We're not gonna find him, and you know it."

There was a beeping at the communications center. Luke walked over and pressed a few keys, calling up the information. He turned back to Max and tilted his head.

"Max, it's Logan. You, uh, wanna take the call?"

Logan. _Shit_. She didn't have time for this. She knew from experience though that if Logan didn't get to talk to her, he would keep calling and calling until he did. She walked over to the station and leaned over, not even bothering to sit down, and punched the connect button. Logan's face appear on the screen.

"Hey, you. It's good to..."

Max cut him off. "Look, Logan, I got no time. Alec is missing, and I'm sure that he's in some kinda trouble. If he had a middle name, Trouble would surely be it. Gotta go, okay?"

Logan frowned, and a strange look passed over his face. "Alec's not there?"

Max huffed. She _so _did not have time for this. "Aren't you listening to what I'm saying? He's gone. Probably out on the streets of Seattle doing God know's what." Max narrowed her eyes at Logan. He seemed kinda nervous. "Why, do you know anything?"

Logan quickly shook his head and gave a little laugh. "Now, why would I know where Alec is? You know, we're not exactly the best of friends."

Max closed her eyes. She felt bad for being suspicious of Logan. He had always been there for her in the past. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just kinda worried. He's probably off risking his life so he can pick up a bottle of scotch and some pork rinds. But I really gotta go, okay?"

Logan smiled and nodded his head. "Okay. Good luck finding him, Max. I mean it."

Max returned his smile with a strained one of her own. "Thanks, Logan. I'll hit you back sometime later. Bye." And with that, she severed the connection.

When she turned back to the surveillance station, she saw that Dix had now joined the crew. He was typing furiously, leaning in as if somehow being closer to the keyboard would help. Feeling hopeful, Max walked over to stand behind him.

"Whatcha got, Dix?"

Mole answered for Dix as the transhuman clearly was in the zone and tuning out everyone else. "Luke thought he spotted camera eight might be on a loop. Turns out he was right. Some pretty slick programming to set the camera on a loop without us catching wind of it. Dix is trying to bust through to get it back to real time."

"Eight? But isn't that..." she trailed off and turned her head to the monitors.

"The garage," Mole replied. Silence ensued, everyone uncomfortable with the implications.

There was a sudden burst of keystrokes from Dix. "Got it!"

Everyone leaned in to watch as the image on screen changed. It showed the interior of the warehouse they called "the garage." There were several cars, a van, two trucks, and a bunch of motorcycles, including Max's beloved Ninja. There was one thing that was noticeably wrong with the picture.

Alec's green Duke motorcycle was missing.

Everyone's heads turned to Max, waiting for her reaction. She clenched her hands into a fists. Inside, an internal battle was raging between anger and worry. For the moment, anger won out.

"When he gets back here, he is a dead man," she said through clenched teeth. "Come on, Joshua, Mole. I need you to come with me to the garage. I plan to be there waiting when he gets back."

As the trio headed back out into the night, Max's internal battle continued. This time, worry seemed to have the upper hand. What if Alec had finally had enough? Maybe he had decided that he couldn't take it anymore, and had lit out for parts unknown. He had been acting so strange lately. What if he had been planning to leave and just didn't know how to tell her? What if he was gone for good? Max's eyes began to sting, and a terrible weight seemed to settle on her chest. A montage of memories of him flashed through her mind: the first time he stepped into her cell, the first time he walked into Jam Pony, playing pool at Crash, him holding her after she'd told him about Ben, the night he brought her peaches after the little mutiny, and the kiss earlier that night in his apartment. _You'd better come back to me, Alec McDowell... _

The thought came unbidden, but it could not be ignored. The emotions that came with it, however, were too strong, too strange, too..._everything_. She felt she had to qualify it, to make it less earth-shattering than it was, so that she wouldn't have to think of everything that it implied.

_...'cause I am so gonna kick your ass._

* * *

A/N: Ugh! I had no idea this chapter was going to end up this long! I guess I got carried away. Happens sometimes.

Okay, now that the events of the past two chapters have converged, we'll get back to the aftermath of the mission. And by the way, the next chapter is called Time's Up. (I just love to keep you guys in suspense.)

And in case you haven't already, you may want to check out my short fic, The Book of Max. With Alec and Dalton quoting Max Laws throughout this story, I just couldn't get the idea of how they came to be out of my head. Had to exorcise it from my brain. Go check it out. _You know you want to._


	8. Ch 7: Time's Up

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: Don't own it…yada yada. No money made…yada yada…

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

A/N: Now that I have scraped off all of the rotten fruit and tomatoes, we are able to continue on where events left off in FUBAR.

Warning: Language, hurt Alec, and extreme--and I mean _extreme--_angst. I suggest you cover your eyes if you have issues with blood.

* * *

Chapter 7: Time's Up

Ames White came to with a sudden jerk as he felt a stinging slap across his cheek. His eyes shot open and his free hand came up to wrap around the neck of his assailant. Only when he heard the satisfying choking sound did he focus his eyes on his prey.

"S-sir..." choked out one of his men, grabbing at his wrist. The Familiar didn't feel the pain of White's attack, but he felt the loss of oxygen keenly. As White realized the man he was currently choking the life out of was Steven Jacobs and a brother Familiar, he loosened his grip.

Ames let his breath out in a huff and pushed Jacobs away from him. He leaned back against the emergency exit door, exhausted. He was a mess. His legs were splayed out uselessly on the floor, and his left arm hung above him, still attached to the door. Blood covered his face from his broken nose, and it streamed down his neck from the head wound where that damn little animal had hit him with a microscope. He probably had a concussion. His right side was bleeding freely from the deep knife wound 494 had inflicted at the end, and there was a small pool of blood gathering under his right heel from the slice across the back of his ankle. Needless to say, this was not one of Ames White's better days.

He glanced over at the man he had pushed off him. Jacobs was bleeding freely from a head wound himself. "Get me out of these," he said, glancing up to indicate the handcuffs, giving them a slight rattle. The man scrambled to comply.

Another failure. That was the only thought running through Ames' head. Another failure, this time at the hands of 494. _494. 452_. They were the bane of his existence. If it wasn't one, it was the other causing him trouble. Or both. One day he would take great pleasure in seeing that they experienced long, painful deaths.

Having finally released White from the handcuffs, Jacobs pulled him up from the floor. He slung Ames' arm over his shoulders and began to help him down the hall.

"Sir," Jacobs began, "Marks is dead--shot--and I think Sheppard's crew might be dead, too. I can't raise them on the radio. We should notify the Conclave right away. 494 was severely injured. With additional manpower, we may be able to..." Before he could finish, he found himself slammed into the wall, White's hand once again around his throat. Jacobs didn't resist; he knew the pecking order here, and he was definitely not at the top. White leaned in heavily against Jacobs, in part to get in the man's face, but also because his right leg refused to support his weight.

"Listen closely, Jacobs" White began in a low, deadly tone. "You will not contact the Conclave. We will not notify them that anything happened tonight. Do you want to be the ones to tell them that you let two transgenic freaks slip through your fingers?" White conveniently transferred the blame to his subordinate--that's about all they were good for, anyway.

The man swallowed heavily, clearly not to happy about the idea. "No, sir."

"Fine." White let Jacobs go, and then did a few motions with his head to indicate Jacobs was to continue helping him out of here. "We clean up the bodies, and then you will take me to the nearest medical facility where we have someone on the inside who can destroy the records. Then we will forget this night ever happened."

"Yes, sir."

As the two Familiars continued down the hall, Ames White mentally cursed 494 and his little sidekick. They had ruined his perfect plan to regain his status with the Conclave. If word of his latest failure got out, he did not think he would ever be able to recover his standing. He glanced sideways at Jacobs. There was only one way to be sure of his complete silence. Once he got to a medical facility, he would guarantee that Jacobs would stay silent. Then he would be free to plot his vengeance against 452 and 494. It would take him a while to recover his full strength, but he could wait. He was a patient man.

* * *

Logan Cale drummed his fingers nervously on the wheel. He leaned forward to glance up impatiently at the traffic light, as if by staring at it he could will it to change. It stubbornly remained red. He leaned over, smacking his forehead against the wheel several times, punctuating each smack with a vehemently whispered, _Stupid_! At a honk from behind him, he brought his head up from the wheel and saw that the light was green. He pressed his foot to the gas and the car surged forward, heading for Advanced Biomedics.

_Liar_. The word whispered to him in his head over and over. Worse yet, it was Max's voice that accused him. _Liar_. He gritted his teeth and focused on his driving, but his conscience wouldn't leave him alone._ Liar_.

God, why had he done it? It was so stupid! He had called Terminal City to speak to Max, thinking that Alec must have bypassed his place and have gone right back to TC to give Max the cure. He had been pissed. He had really wanted to give it to her himself, to see the look on her face when he finally placed it in her hands. Of course, Alec would have to go and steal his thunder. The guy couldn't help being an ass. In fact, Logan was pretty sure there was a bit of donkey in his cocktail.

When he finally got through to Max and saw the frantic look on her face when she told him that Alec was missing, a flurry of emotions ran through him. First, there was anger. He figured that Alec had somehow managed to screw up yet again, and wondered if he had maybe even done it on purpose. Then jealously hit him. He had seen the look in Alec's eyes when he had asked him to complete this mission. There was a sort of frantic desperation there, which he'd seen echoed in Max's soulful brown eyes. It was the kind of desperation that one did not have for a mere casual friend. Then he felt consternation; what if Alec had decided to blow off the mission entirely and was shacked up with a girl somewhere? What if the jerk had blown his only chance? Then he felt shock. As much as Logan didn't care for Alec, he didn't really think he would have blown off the mission. Why wasn't he back yet? His mouth spoke before his mind could lock it down, and he had blurted out, _Alec's not there_? The next thing he felt was full-blown panic.

Logan had seen a glint of suspicion in Max's eyes at his strange comment. His heart began racing, and he could feel the sweat dampen his palms. When Max had asked him if he knew anything about where Alec was, it blew a fuse in his brain. All he could think of was, _She'll be mad...she will never forgive me, _and he had blurted out the lie. As soon as he said it, he had wanted to take it back. He wanted to tell her exactly where to look for Alec. But he knew that his relationship with Max was on unstable ground as it was, and he feared that if he told her the truth the ground would crumble and it would collapse into nothingness. When he had wished her good luck in finding Alec, he had meant it. Then he had mentally cursed himself for being a lying bastard.

As Logan pulled within two blocks of Advanced Biomedics, he flipped his cell phone open for the third time to call Max, and then flipped it back shut. He should wait. He didn't know for sure that something had happened, right? Maybe Alec was pinned down and had to wait for a guard shift change. Maybe he had some problem with the vault. There could be a thousand reasons why he wasn't finished with the job. But as Logan pulled on the street were Advanced Biomedics was located, he knew that something had happened, and he was definitely screwed.

There were several police cars, as well as the dark sedans that government agents favored, parked helter-skelter in front of the building, lights flashing. Several news vans were already on the scene, and reporters clamored at the police line for a sound bite. Logan pulled his Aztek into an empty parking spot and pulled out his laptop. He was quickly able to hack into the police reports. He scanned through them quickly, eyes lighting on the words _break-in...safe compromised...biohazard...two suspects, one seriously injured_..._fled on motorcycle...pursuit failed_. Logan's heart skipped a beat when he read _seriously injured_, thinking that Max would kill him if something happened to Alec. Then he did a double take--two suspects? _Two_? Alec was supposed to be on this job alone. Who the hell had he taken with him?

All Logan knew was that one of them was seriously injured, and that they were not back in Terminal City. He had to tell Max. He had no choice. He couldn't live with himself if he didn't say anything and Alec or the person with him died as a results. He was Eyes Only; he was supposed to help other people. In his obsession with finding the cure, he had lost sight of that. It was time to make it right.

Logan flipped open his cell phone and dialed this time. As he put it to his ear, he was confused as it cut off in mid ring. He tried again, but the result was the same. He pulled the phone back to take a closer look. His battery had died. Of all the idiotic things to do, in his rush to leave the house and figure out what was going on, he had left with a power-dead cell phone.

Logan pulled away from the curb and turned his vehicle around, heading back towards Terminal City. He was not sure how he was going to tell Max what he had done, but he knew that he had no choice now but to tell her in person. The drive would give him time to think of just what the hell he could possibly say to her that could make this right. Maybe Alec and his partner would already be back safe and sound by the time he got there. He was certain that if that wasn't the case, he would have a hard time facing the fury of Hurricane Max.

Logan Cale had made a mistake. He hoped to God he was the only one that would have to pay the price.

* * *

Hurricane Max was currently on a collision coarse with the head of the TC Border Patrol. As she surged over the streets of Terminal City, Mole and Joshua trailing behind in her wake, she prepared for a showdown with the red-headed X5. She knew the bitch had a thing for Alec. Funny how she had never really had a problem with Zev until the slut had begun throwing herself at her SIC. Alec, and possibly Dalton, had somehow gotten past Zev's border patrol crew, none of whom had reported any unauthorized departures. Max had a sneaking suspicion of exactly how Alec had made it out undetected.

As three members of the Terminal City Council came barreling toward her, Zev gulped and gripped her weapon tighter. One look at Max's face, and she knew she just might need it. She fought to keep her cool as the trio approached.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Zev asked, though it came out a bit more strained than she would have liked.

Max stepped up until she was face to face with the woman who had, in her mind, become her nemesis. "Why don't you tell me?" she replied back, a thousand wordless threats in her tone.

Zev risked a quick glance at Oscar. The kid looked like he was either about to bolt or throw up. She would get no help from that sector. She looked back at Max and steeled herself. _Come on, you can do this! She's not that big and bad_.

Max had spotted Zev's quick glance at Oscar and could clearly pick up on the X5's accelerated heart beat. She never took her eyes off Zev's as she brought her hand up to tick off points on her fingers.

"You wanna tell me how _a: _Terminal City's Second In Command is nowhere in this city, _b: _how said SIC, and possibly his so-called assistant, got past your border patrol without a single person spotting them, _c: _how, as this is supposedly impossible, no one reported any unauthorized departures, and _d: _why I shouldn't kick your ass right here and now for letting him go?!

Zev thought her best defense was to play dumb. "What are you talking about?"

When Max poked her finger into Zev's chest, Joshua and Mole each took a casual step forward, prepared to jump in if things got physical. Since it was Max, there was a high probability that it just might.

Max got right up in Zev's face and hissed, "_Alec_. I'm talking about _Alec_."

_Don't panic, don't panic, play it cool_. These frantic thoughts ran through Zev's head as she shifted her assault rifle to her other hand. _Play dumb_! "Alec? I thought he was working in Command tonight. What, he didn't show?"

Max had enough of pussyfooting around, and she was tired of playing games. She stepped back from Zev, whipped out a hand, and grabbed Oscar by the scruff of the neck. As she dragged him to her, the hapless X6 let out a little yelp, startled that he was being pulled into the fray. He had been trying _so hard _to be invisible.

Max didn't even take her eyes off Zev as she addressed the X6. "Oscar, right?"

Oscar's shoulders were hunched up to his ears, involuntarily trying to protect himself from Max's grip. "Y-Yeah," he managed with a bit of a squeak.

"Did you or did you not see Alec leave Terminal City through this access point?"

Oscar breathed a sigh of relief. Something he could answer safely. "No, I didn't."

As she looked into Zev's eyes, Max was absolutely certain she was right about how Alec had gotten out. She tightened her grip on Oscar and gave him a little shake, eliciting another squeak from him.

"Let me rephrase the question. Did you or did you not see Alec McDowell, _my _Second in Command, at this sewer access point this evening?"

Oscar's eyes bounced back and forth between Max and Zev, two of the most formidable women in TC. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, between Scylla and Charybdis. Either way he was screwed. Sell out your unit commander, or lie to the CO of Terminal City? One glance at the look on Max's face quickly told him which path would lead to the least bodily harm.

"Uh, yeah. I ... ummm ... saw him earlier. Stopped by to chat. Didn't see him leave, though, honest. Uh… Zev sent me for some sandwiches, so..." Oscar trailed off and risked a glance at Zev. _Yep, his ass was grass_.

Max let Oscar go, who stumbled back a few steps, then quickly took a few more back so that he would hopefully be out of the fallout zone. Max stepped into Zev so that their noses were practically touching. The bitch had lied to her. Lips clenched in a hard line, she took in a deep breath through her nose in an attempt to calm herself. Flying off the handle wouldn't get anything done.

And that was when she smelled it. She would know that scent anywhere. _Alec. On Zev. It was Alec's scent on Zev._ It seemed her vision went white with anger. Flying off the handle suddenly had a whole new appeal.

When Max grabbed the edges of Zev's jacket and bared her teeth, both Joshua and Mole jumped in and grabbed a hold of her arms. Zev grabbed Max's wrists, trying to fend her off. The three transgenics combined could not loose Max from the object of her rage. As Joshua looked a bit panicked at how angry Max was, Mole quickly tried to diffuse the situation.

"Whoa, whoa! As much as I'd like to see you two alpha bitches throw down, we need to stay on target here. Alec is missing, and who knows what trouble the dumbass has gotten himself into. We don't have time for this!"

Reminded of what she was here for in the first place, Max slowly let go of Zev, indicating with a look that this _discussion _would be continued later when they resolved the pressing matter at hand. Zev, feathers definitely ruffled, stepped back with a huff and straightened her jacket. She looked into Max's eyes and saw, behind the boiling anger, a frantic, all consuming concern for Alec. TC's CO may not know it yet, but it looked liked Alec's feelings for Max were mutual. It was time to acknowledge defeat.

"Fine. I'll tell you what I know."

* * *

Dalton had trouble holding back tears of frustration as Alec stumbled for the fourth time. He was so tired, and Alec was so much bigger than him, that he was unable to stop the X5 from falling to his knees, sending up a small splash from the rancid water pooled on the floor of the sewer tunnel. Dalton fell to his knees beside Alec and took a moment to catch his breath.

He was so fucking scared. He had never been this scared before in his life. Not back at Manticore, not when he was on the run with Gem, and not during the Jam Pony standoff. As he looked at Alec's pale and bloody face, at the blood that was already swirling in the dirty water from his wounds, he realized that he held Alec's life in his hands. Whether Alec lived or died would depend on if he was strong enough to get his friend to safety. And he was so fucking scared that he was not strong enough.

Alec had not said a word since they had escaped from Advanced Biomedics. Dalton really hoped that this was because Alec was conserving his strength and not because he had given up. He wiped at the single tear that had escaped and left a clean trail down his bloodied cheek. He once again grabbed Alec around his uninjured side in an attempt to lever him up.

"Come on, Alec," Dalton said in a shaky voice. "We're almost there. Just another hundred meters or so and we should be within shouting distance."

Alec's head hung lower and he shook it slightly. He painfully drew in a breath with a gurgling, wet sound. He'd had enough, he couldn't go any further, and he was fully prepared to die right there. He wished the kid would just give up and let him finish what White started. It was just that he didn't want Max to blame herself for his death. She probably would anyway, because accepting blame was what Max did best, but at least he could spare her the sight of seeing him die. She would have Logan to be there for her. He wished _he_ could have been the one to be there for her, but sometimes fate was a bitch.

He was surprised when Dalton actually managed to lever him up off the ground and push him against the tunnel wall to help him stay upright. The young X6 looked terrible, left side of his face painted red with blood, complementing the numerous bruises and cuts. The worst thing was the pleading look in his eyes. He could almost hear what the kid was thinking. _Please don't die on me, not when I could save you. _Looked like Max wouldn't be the only one accepting blame for his death. He was not sure if he could stop Maxie from blaming herself, but he could do something for Dalton. If he could only last long enough…

Dalton had a firm grip on Alec's arms, afraid of letting go, and not just in the physical sense. He had heard Max talk about her bond with her brothers and sisters and had originally scoffed at the idea. But now he knew what she meant. Alec had become like a brother to him, and there was no way in hell that he was letting anyone take his big brother away from him.

"Please, Alec. Just a little bit further. _Please_!"

Dalton sighed with relief when Alec gave a slight nod and took a shuffling step towards home. As the two transgenics began to slowly make their way down the tunnel once more, Dalton again took up his litany to a God that he was pretty sure didn't exist.

_Please, just keep him alive, keep him alive, please, keep him alive.... _

* * *

They had barely made the first bend in the tunnel before Mole started bitching about the sewers--the smell, the damp, the dark, whatever he could think of. His bitching reminded Max of how much Alec hated the sewers. She was positive that he had always just bitched about it for the sake of bitching or for the sound of his own voice, just like Mole was doing now. It had become expected when Alec did it, almost endearing, but Mole was driving her up the fucking wall.

"Mole, can you just keep your scaly trap shut for two seconds! I swear, you're worse than Alec!"

Being compared to Alec, whom Mole staunchly pretended not to like, finally shut him up. The only thing Max heard from his end was angry chewing on a cigar. _Good_. Max forged ahead, barely keeping herself from blurring and leaving the two transhumans behind. She hoped to be at the garage before Alec got back so she could pounce on him as soon as he got in the door. She was relishing the various ways she planned to reacquaint him with goddamn Max Law Number Eleven. Joshua seemed to sense this, for he caught up to her and grabbed her by the arm, turning her to face him.

"Little Fella need to calm down."

Max tugged at her arm, but she was reminded that the dog-man was far stronger than she was when she could not free herself. "I'm perfectly fine, Joshua."

Joshua chuffed and shook his head, refusing to allow Max to blow him off. "No. Joshua keep little fella from hurting Alec. Joshua protect Max, but Alec Joshua's family too. Joshua protect Alec from Little Fella. Protect Little Fella from herself."

Max finally looked up into Joshua's eyes and saw the worry there. She was so busy masking her own worry with anger, she didn't even think about the others. Both Joshua and Mole were close friends with Alec. She had no right ignore their concerns. She reached up and placed a calming hand over Joshua's.

"I promise, I won't hurt him, Joshua."

Joshua and Mole just looked at her, both with looks on their faces that clearly said _yeah, right_.

Max rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "All right, I promise not to hurt him _much_," she qualified.

This seemed to satisfy both Joshua and Mole. They were fully aware that Alec was not going to get out of this one without some bodily damage.

The three transgenics turned the corner and came into a long expanse of tunnel. Max came to a sudden halt, Joshua bumping in to her at her sudden stop, as she spotted two figures near the other end of this section. She drew in a sharp breath, and suddenly time had no meaning.

* * *

Dalton and Alec had been trudging along silently, except for the occasional grunt of pain or wet-sounding noises as Alec labored to breathe around the blood filling his lung. Both transgenics' eyes were on the floor in front of them, concentrating on each difficult step. Dalton's enhanced hearing picked up a sudden indrawn breath at the other end of the tunnel, and his head shot up. He almost collapsed in relief as his eyes zoomed in on Max and the two transhumans at the other end, before he realized that they didn't know how critical the situation was here. He barely maintained his grip on Alec as he drew in a lung-full of air and screamed, his voice cracking.

"_**HELP!!**_**" **

* * *

Everything seemed frozen, and the edges of the tunnel took on a fuzzy, dream-like quality. Max's transgenic eyesight zoomed in to focus on the two figures at the end of the tunnel. _There they were_. Alec and Dalton, looking as if they had been through a war and had come out on the losing side. Dalton was struggling to keep Alec upright, blood and bruises covering his face, favoring his left leg, which was torn and bloody. What scared Max the most was the panicked look on his face. She was afraid to look at what she was sure was the object of his panic. She could tell Dalton was screaming, but she didn't hear a sound. The only sound was her own blood rushing in her ears, beating frantically in time with her heart.

Though she didn't want to look, was afraid to look, she _made _herself look at Alec. The first thing she noticed was the blood; he seemed to be covered in it. It seemed like too much to have come out of a person that was still standing. His left leg and arm were also torn and bloody. The pair must have taken a spill from Alec's bike. Her eyes traveled up to his face, and she felt her heart stutter in her chest. He was deathly pale. Blood flowed from a nasty cut under his left eye, which was surrounded by a large and angry bruise. As she finally met his eyes, she thought sure that her heart would just stop.

There were a thousand emotions that seemed to flicker through his hazel eyes in an instant, riding behind the intense pain that was etched there. Max saw those eyes widen a just a bit, and then it was as if his entire body relaxed. What Max saw in his eyes made her blood run cold. It was relief, followed by acceptance.

_Acceptance that he was going to die._

* * *

Alec felt so disconnected by this point, he had not even looked up from the ground until he heard Dalton screaming beside him. He struggled to raise his head, his eyes automatically dilating to focus on three figures at the other end of the tunnel.

_There she was, waiting for him._

She was an angel. A beautiful, dark angel to whom he had gladly surrendered his heart and soul, though he hadn't even realized he had done it until a couple of days ago. His life flashed before his eyes, but only from the time that he had stepped through Max's cell door at Manticore. He had never truly lived before that moment.

He remembered the good times and the bad, the times they had laughed and the times that they had thought about killing each other. She was all he had ever wanted, but he had been too stupid to realize it. He had wasted so much time. So much time, and now it was too late. Time to accept it. No more fighting the inevitable. He had hung on for this long in the slim chance that he might get to look at her just one last time. That was all he had really wanted to do. He could go now.

As the will to fight any longer left him, he relaxed his body and just accepted it. His eyes rolled up into his head, and he surrendered himself to unconsciousness.

* * *

Suddenly, the world snapped back into focus and time resumed. It not only resumed, but seemed to be in fast forward. Things were happening too fast. Minutes seemed like seconds, each second bringing Alec closer to death. She could now hear Dalton screaming for help; his cries seemed to come from everywhere as the tunnel amplified the sound. The X6's cries for help turned into wordless sounds of panic as Alec collapsed, taking Dalton to the ground with him.

Max blurred over to them, leaving her comrades behind. She fell to her knees and skidded the last two feet, sending water flying. Dalton had managed to break Alec's fall, and the X6 held his friend's upper body from the floor. The arms he had wrapped around Alec were shaking. They also hid the true extent of Alec's wounds. She had hoped that it wasn't that bad, that it looked worse than it really was, but as she raised her head to look at Dalton's face, she knew the situation was dire.

Dalton was almost as pale as Alec, causing the red blood on his face to stand out in stark contrast. His blonde hair stood up in bloody spikes, most likely the result of running a bloody hand through it. It was his eyes that affected her the most. The wide-eyed, pleading stare that begged her to _fix this_, to _make everything okay_. He had done all he could, and now his narrow, adolescent shoulders seemed to buckle under the pressure. Dalton blinked a couple of times, another tear escaping down his cheek to weave a clear path through the all the blood.

He drew in a shaky breath, never taking his eyes off his savior, _Alec's_ savior, and tried to tell her. His voice had left him, and it came out in barely a whisper.

"_Shot_."

Max's eyes flew wide at this, and her hand shot out to Alec's neck to feel for his pulse. She panicked for a moment until she felt the first faint beat. His pulse was thready, but it was there. She sagged a little in relief. She tried to assess the rest of the damage her SIC had taken, but Dalton seemed incapable of letting go, his arms locked around Alec.

"_Twice_ … _in the chest_."

As Dalton's shaky voice whispered the true extent of Alec's injuries, Max's eyes again flew again to face. She desperately wanted for him to laugh and say it wasn't true, that it was all a big, albeit sick, joke. She wanted Alec to reach up and grab her, laughing his infectious laugh and telling her she needed to lighten up. But Dalton wasn't laughing, and Alec was ominously silent.

Max turned her head back down the tunnel, to the two transhumans running toward them, and screamed with all her might.

"_**Joshua!"**_

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity to Max, but was in reality no more than thirty seconds, Joshua and Mole reached the trio huddled on the sewer floor. Max raised her head to gaze up at Joshua, unshed tears in her eyes.

"_Joshua_," she whispered, the word becoming a plea.

As Joshua knelt down next to Alec, Mole stood above them, chewing furiously on his cigar, shotgun at ready, looking for something to shoot. Everything would be okay if he just had something to shoot.

Joshua reached for Alec to lift him from the floor, but Dalton wouldn't release him. The young X6 stared right through Joshua, clearly going into shock. Max looked ready to yell at him when Joshua put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed hard. He would take care of this.

Josh hunched down as much as his large frame could manage, to bring his face closer to Dalton's. He placed a hand on Dalton's arms and tugged lightly.

"Dalton. Let go."

The X6's eyes remained unfocused, but his arms tightened slightly, indicating that he had heard the request. He probably felt that he was being asked to abandon his post.

Joshua spoke in the soothing, deep tone full of sincerity. "Dalton. Must let go. Dalton did a good job. Take care of Alec. But need to let go. Joshua must help him now."

This finally got through to Dalton, who raised his head, his eyes coming into focus. He let go of Alec, and Joshua scooped the X5 up as if he were a rag doll. Mole reached down to pull Dalton up from the floor, slinging the kid's arm around his neck and supporting most of his weight.

Joshua cradled his injured friend to his chest and started down the tunnel. Max followed closely behind, unable to take her eyes from Alec. She was afraid that if she turned away, that Alec would just fade away while she wasn't looking. She felt that if she just kept watch over him, she could somehow keep him anchored to this world.

The band of transgenics surged up the steep ramp to exit the sewer, blowing right past a stunned Zev and Oscar, who had lowered their guns when they realized the group was friendly.

"What happened?!" asked Zev in shock. The five of them ignored her, not even slowing their pace. As Zev began to follow after the group, she turned back to Oscar and pointed a finger at him, then down at the ground, indicating he should stay put. When she turned back again, however, she was stopped in her tracks by a furious and frantic Max standing directly in her path.

Max gave Zev a shove, catching the redhead so off guard that she fell right on her butt. "Get back to your post," Max snarled.

Zev levered herself up off the ground, glancing behind Max at the transgenics rushing toward Medical. "I just want to…" she began, but Max cut her off.

"I don't give a shit _what_ you want! This _never _would have happened if _you_ hadn't let him go! Now, go man your _FUCKING POST_!!"

Zev just stared after Max, stunned, as the CO spun and chased after Alec. Her assault rifle slipped through her fingers, her hands grasping the tip to keep it from falling as the butt hit the ground with a crack. Fear and anxiety gripped her as she glanced down at the ground to see a light trail of blood leading off into the darkness. She vowed that never again would she let her hormones override her better judgment. Alec probably would have found another way out, even if she hadn't let him go, but that wouldn't keep her from blaming herself if he didn't make it.

She frowned and grabbed her radio from her belt. She was a soldier, and she needed to start acting like one, dammit. She contacted Medical to alert them to what was coming. It was the only thing that she could do to help.

"Take care of him," she whispered after Max's retreating back. "Take care of him."

* * *

On the way to the Medical building, the group of transgenics had gathered quite a crowd. Alec was probably the only transgenic in all of Terminal City that everyone--X-series or transhuman--liked. He was the one that kept everyone talking to each other, that did little things to try to make their lives in the large cage of TC easier. When several transgenics--mostly the night owls with shark DNA like Max--had spotted Joshua carrying an injured Alec, word had quickly spread and a dozen or so people followed behind, overcome with concern for their SIC.

When Joshua carried Alec through the doors, Max following fast on his heels, Mole spun himself and Dalton around to face the crowd.

"Everyone stays outside. We got enough problems here without the Doc tripping over all of you. We'll keep you posted." At the look of concern on their faces, their desire to do _something_, Mole relented a bit. "Doc's probably gonna need some blood donors. Spread the word." With that, he turned and dragged Dalton into the building.

Joshua burst through the doors of what had become the transgenics' triage center. A quiet, rat-like transhuman named Widget, one of TC's medics, was waiting for them. He waved Joshua over to an open gurney already surrounded by bandages, bags of blood, and other supplies. Joshua gently lowered his precious cargo to the bed and stepped back.

As Alec lay there, Widget busied with checking his vitals, Max finally allowed herself to look, _really _look, at the damage that had been done to him. He was so pale, his normally golden skin would have blended in to the white sheet of the gurney if it had not already become stained red with his blood. His wonderful, hazel eyes, usually so full of mischief, remained stubbornly closed, and appeared to have sunken in a bit. The angry bruise on his cheekbone was accented by a wide gash, flashing a hint of bone. Alec's lips, so full and expressive for a man, were beginning to show a tinge of blue. His entire left side was a mass of tattered clothing and flesh, embedded with grit and gravel. He was covered in dirt and blood and bruises, and it was the most heartbreaking thing that Max had ever seen in her life.

Widget leaned in and unzipped Alec's black jacket, then grabbed the collar of his black t-shirt and ripped. There was a collective gasp as two gunshots wounds were revealed. The first, high in the right side of his chest below his collar bone, didn't really look that bad. There was a fairly small entrance wound, though it had bled profusely from exertion. The second wound was a horror. Max put a hand over her mouth, and she could hear Joshua whimper behind her. The gun must have gone off from near point blank range to make such a wound.

Widget reached a hand under Alec's right side, searching for exit wounds. He shook his head and quietly muttered, "Not good. Not good."

Max took her hand from her mouth, her eyes widening even further. "_What_?!" she asked, her tone beginning to border on hysterical.

Widget looked up, nose twitching a bit. His soft voice almost belayed the seriousness of his message. "No exit wounds. The bullets are still in him."

Mole stepped up, leaning Dalton against a wall before continuing forward. "Where the hell is the Doc?" he asked angrily.

Just as he said this, the doors behind him burst open. "I'm right here. And don't call me Doc, you scaly-assed son of a bitch."

Vash, an X5 and Terminal City's resident doctor, surged into the room. She was one of the oldest of the X5 series, being somewhere in her late twenties. Everything about her was no nonsense, from her practical, short brown hair to her clipped, sarcastic tone. Everyone called her Doc, but no one called her it to her face. She was completely lacking in bedside manner, because back at Manticore, it was difficult to show feelings for patients who you just might be ordered to euthanize the next day.

"What do we got?" she asked Widget as she pulled on sterile gloves and approached the bed. When she saw who the patient was, she gave a little gasp. "Damn," she muttered.

Widget gave Vash the rundown while attaching probes to Alec's chest. "Two gunshot wounds to the right side of the chest are the main concern. No exit wounds. Multiple bruises and lacerations. Significant blood loss. We need to start a plasma ASAP."

Vash nodded grimly. "All right, let's get to work."

As Vash and Widget began to work on Alec, Max moved over to Dalton, who was leaning heavily against the wall. She grabbed his arm and jerked a little to get his attention.

"What the hell happened, Dalton? Why were you and Alec outside of TC? What the fuck were you thinking?"

Joshua stepped up beside Dalton to lend the kid support, in case Max got a little too excitable. He placed one of his large hands on Dalton's shoulder. "Everything okay, Dalton. Tell us."

Dalton opened and closed his mouth several times before an abbreviated version of the night's events came out in a babbling rush, becoming increasingly frantic with each word.

"We were on a job for Logan, I mean, Alec was on the job but I followed him, I overheard, he was supposed to go alone, but I threatened to tell if he didn't let me go, so we went..." Max had started a bit a hearing Logan's name, but had no time to process the data as Dalton continued on. Another medic tried to pull Dalton aside to examine him, but the X6 roughly shrugged him off, never pausing in his story.

"... it was supposed to be easy, in and out, no problem, but there were guards and Familiars and White, White was there, it was a trap and we couldn't get out, we kept running and running, but they were everywhere, we had to fight them off, and White was going to shoot me. He was going to kill me, shoot me in the head, like an animal, but Alec stopped him, he shoved me out of the way, Alec took a bullet for me. Maybe if he hadn't taken that bullet, he would have been able to fight him off, he wouldn't have been shot again, but he took that bullet for me! He took that bullet for me, Max! He's gonna die, and it'll be all my fault!"

Max closed her eyes at Dalton's final words, her grip tightening on the X6. "Shut up! He's not gonna die! He's not gonna die!"

It was as if Alec had heard her plea, for his eyes shot open and a he drew in a gurgling breath. His eyes darted in several different directions, searching but not finding. His eyes tried to roll up in his head, but he fought to keep them focused. He gathered his strength, and said one word in a deep, guttural voice that for a moment froze everyone in the room.

"_Max_."

Max quickly moved to the bed, inadvertently bumping into Vash. She growled at Max as she tried to stanch the flow of blood from Alec's chest, tossing soaked gauze over her shoulder and exchanging it for fresh. "Other side, dammit! Working here!"

Max walked around to the other side of the bed. Alec's head rolled to follow her, and he briefly closed his eyes, as if the movement had made him dizzy. He had apparently used up most of his remaining strength to call out her name, because when he opened his eyes and spoke next, it was so low and quiet, Max had to lean in closer to hear him.

"Looks…like I…screwed up…again." He tried to give Max a slight grin, but it turned to a grimace of pain as Vash applied more pressure to his wounds. He was desperately trying to hold on to the smart aleck persona, but his eyes betrayed his efforts, showing nothing but pain and fear.

Alec was trying to make light of it. Maybe it was less scary that way. Max thought she could play along as well.

"Yeah, well, you're supposed to dodge those little things called bullets, you know." She tried to keep her tone easy, but couldn't keep the tremor out of her voice. Inside, she was thinking _OhGodOhGodOhGodOhGod._

Alec began to respond, but his back arched and he gritted his teeth as another wave of pain wracked his body. His teeth were stained red with blood. His voice began to sound as if he were trying to talk with a mouthful of water. But it wasn't water that made Alec sound that way.

"Won't …have to worry…'bout that... ... anymore."

Max shook her head and wiped angrily at a few stray tears that had escaped. "Shut up. You'll be all right. You're always all right."

"Don't …think … so. Not this … time." He tried to draw in a breath, but his throat was now choked with blood, and he sounded for all the world as if he was drowning. And he was--drowning in his own blood. He coughed suddenly, and blood gushed from his mouth, a bit splattering on Max's face, causing her to jerk. In the background, she heard Vash yell something about a chest tube, but everything else had lost its focus. She saw only Alec with perfect clarity.

Alec struggled to draw in a breath, choking around the blood filling his mouth and throat. He coughed again, expelling more blood, before he was finally able to take in a meager breath.

"Max..." His eyes seared into hers, wanting, needing to end this the right way. He hoped she would understand, because he was sure that his time was almost up. "Didn't…. mean… it. I… aarrrgh…" He trailed off as he was forced to grit his teeth against the pain.

Max eyes softened, and she reached up to brush the hair from Alec's forehead. He was trying to apologize for what he had said earlier, at his apartment. Here he was, bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds and possibly dying--no, don't think that, never think that--and he was apologizing to her for something she already knew that he hadn't really meant.

"I know," she replied simply, hand still resting in his hair. She saw him relax visibly at these words, and he let a single, red-tinged tear escape.

The moment Max leaned over Alec, her hand in his hair, was the exact moment that Logan Cale found her, brought there by an escort of X7's. He stood in the doorway, staring with shocked disbelief at the scene in front of him. He hadn't really believed that Alec had been hurt. Hadn't wanted to believe. He tried to step forward, but the X7's grabbed his arms, preventing him from entering. They shook their heads in unison, indicating that he wasn't to interrupt. Logan stepped back. He was too late to help now, and what help he could offer was definitely unwanted. He would simply have to wait.

Alec's eyes suddenly widened, as if he had just remembered something important. He tried to raise a hand to reach in his jacket, but found he didn't have the strength. He drew in another wet-sounding breath before calling out.

"Dalton..."

The X6, looking as if he could shatter at any moment, stepped forward into Alec's line of sight. Alec just looked at him, and the two shared a moment of silent communication. Dalton knew what he wanted. He stepped forward and reached into Alec's jacket, grasping the plastic cylinder concealed there. He used his other hand to take Alec's and wrap it around the cylinder before letting go. He backed away, afraid that this would be Alec's final act, the last thing that he was holding on for.

Alec gathered all of his remaining strength and grasped Max's hand, pulling it to him. His bloody hands wrapped around her smaller one as he closed her fist over the plastic cylinder. His hands stayed wrapped around hers, relishing the final contact. He struggled to draw in a breath, but it felt as if he were trying to breathe underwater. Time to say what he had to say.

"Be... happy ... ... Maxie." He sucked in one last breath, but it had no where to go, and his throat filled again with gurgling blood.

"Love ... ... you."

With those words, Alec's eyes slipped closed. His hands slid bonelessly from hers to collapse at his sides.

There was suddenly a flurry of motion around them, but Max didn't really see it, didn't really hear it. If she had, she would have heard Vash yelling for the crash cart, leaning over Alec to start CPR. She would have seen Dalton turn away and cover his eyes, Mole's cigar drop out of his mouth, and Joshua's head hang in defeat. She would have heard the scream of the heart monitor as it suddenly flatlined.

None of this got through to Max. All of her senses focused on the spot where Alec's pulse beat in his throat ... beat ... beat ... ... beat ... ...

... beat ...

... ... ...

She waited for another beat. Of course it was going to beat again. This was Alec. He got into the craziest, most dangerous situations out there and usually came out with no more than a flesh wound. He was practically indestructible. He wouldn't abandon her, not now, not ever. He was always there for her. She stared at his throat, waiting for the next beat.

It didn't beat again.

* * *

A/N: Mwaaah haaaah haaaah! Yes, it is the mother of all cliffhangers! I am evil. _Evil!_

And since I am so evil, and so enjoy cruel and unusual punishment (_ahem… happycabbage_), the next chapter is called Come Undone. (Bonus points if you know where I got the title.)

Oh, and if you're not familiar with Max Law Number Eleven, go read my short humor fic The Book of Max. It's all there.

PS: As I have to deprive myself sleep to write this story, and I have a ridiculous number of fic alerts sitting in my inbox that I have to catch up on, much less fics I haven't even discovered yet, and I try to have something of a personal life (_I have a three year old, so mostly not succeeding there_), I really don't have time to do any beta work. Once that winning lottery ticket finally finds its way into my pocket, though, I'm sure I'll have more free time. Sorry! :(


	9. Ch 8: Come Undone

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: I do not …yawn…own Dark Angel. Oscar, Zev, Vash, Widget and my interpretation of poor, underused, little seen Dalton are all mine, however. I don't own the song that I will shortly be mentioning in the author's notes below either.

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

A/N: No one guessed where I got this chapter's title. Not one person. I was kinda shocked. I know the song is a bit old, and not a currently cool band, but I thought someone might figure it out. Most people thought it was from the Evanescence song "Bring Me to Life." I love that song, have their CD, but no, that is not it. The title actually comes from a Duran Duran song (_no, really_) from the early nineties, called, obviously, "Come Undone." Internet radio is bliss. This song came on while I was listening at work and it was like (insert angelic chorus here) an epiphany, because for the life of me I couldn't come up with a good title for this chapter. My original working title, "The Max Freak Out Scene," just really didn't have the same ring, ya know? Parts of the song kinda seemed to fit what was going on with Max in this chapter, so there you have it.

I actually have gotten over 40 reviews for my last chapter! I was like, WOW! Thanks for showing me the love, guys. Oh, and I owe everyone a box of tissues to make up for the extreme angst and evil cliffhanger of the last chapter–though I _did _warn you...about the angst anyway. I _love _making you all cry! Hell, I had a few sniffles when I was writing it! I also love cliffhangers, too, so considered yourself forewarned.

This is the chapter brings us up to the events that occurred in the Prologue. Reread it if you like.

Warning: Language, angst, trauma, freaking out, angst, screaming, more freaking out, emotional distress…did I mention angst?

* * *

Chapter 8: Come Undone

_Who do you need? Who do you love  
__When you come undone?_

_~ "Come Undone" Duran Duran_

_Previously…_

Alec gathered all of his remaining strength and grasped Max's hand, pulling it to him. His bloody hands wrapped around her smaller one as he closed her fist over the plastic cylinder. His hands stay wrapped around hers, relishing the final contact. He struggled to draw in a breath, but it felt as if he were trying to breathe underwater. Time to say what he had to say.

"Be... happy ... ... Maxie." He sucked in one last breath, but it had no where to go, and his throat filled again with gurgling blood.

"Love ... ... you."

With those words, Alec's eyes slipped closed. His hands slid bonelessly from hers to collapse at his sides.

There was suddenly a flurry of motion around them, but Max didn't really see it, didn't really hear it. If she had, she would have heard Vash yelling for the crash cart, leaning over Alec to start CPR. She would have seen Dalton turn away and cover his eyes, Mole's cigar drop out of his mouth, and Joshua's head hang in defeat. She would have heard the scream of the heart monitor as it suddenly flatlined.

None of this got through to Max. All of her senses focused on the spot where Alec's pulse beat in his throat ... beat ... beat ... ... beat ... ...

... beat ...

She waited for another beat. Of course it was going to beat again. This was Alec. He got into the craziest, most dangerous situations out there and usually came out with no more than a flesh wound. He was practically indestructible. He wouldn't abandon her, not now, not ever. He was always there for her. She stared at his throat, waiting for the next beat.

It didn't beat again.

* * *

Max took three small, shuffling steps back from the gurney in disbelief, her arm slowly trailing off Alec's chest to fall bonelessly at her side, yet the cylinder still clasped tight in her fist. Her face, still spattered with Alec's blood, was slack, lips slightly parted, eyes wide and full of confusion. She forgot to breathe, and the heart in her chest--_Zack's_ _heart_--stuttered and came to a stop, as if it refused to beat without Alec's heart beating in time.

Max still didn't see or hear any of the commotion around her. She blinked once…twice, still expecting Alec to open his eyes, move, do something_, anything_. Her mind wouldn't accept, _couldn't_ accept, what was happening in front of her. Her gaze alternated from the pulse point in his throat to his battered, pale face and back. Agony seized her chest like a vice as she desperately willed Alec to show some sign of life.

Nothing happened.

Reality came crashing back, and Max suddenly heard the stern voice of Vash barking out orders, the roll of the crash cart, the quiet whimpers from Joshua, and the sound of the heart monitor screaming its flatline. This couldn't be happening. It just _couldn't_. But it was. Max's heart started again, beating frantically as she sucked in as much air as her lungs could hold before letting it out in a primal scream.

"_**NO!"**_

She surged forward, not really sure of what she was going to do but knowing that she had to do _something _to save him. Before she could reach the bed, she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her and pick her up off the ground, pulling her back from the gurney…away from Alec. Her feet kicked and her hands tugged at her bonds as she struggled in vain to free herself from Joshua's unyielding arms.

"Let go of me, GODDAMMIT!" she yelled. Realizing that Joshua was not going to let go, she leaned forward in his grasp, to get as close to Alec as she could manage. She would get him back. She had to.

"YOUTHINK YOU'RE GONNA TAKE THE EASY WAY OUT_, YOU CHICKENSHIT_!" she screamed at Alec's prone form, still struggling against the transhuman's grip, her hair flying wildly. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE A _SOLDIER! _YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE _BEST! _YOU CAN'T TAKE A COUPLE OF _FUCKIN' BULLETS?! WAKE UP, _YOU LAZY SONOFABITCH!_ SHOW ME _YOU'RE THE BEST!_**I WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS SHIT**__!_"

Vash continued CPR while Widget prepared the crash cart--a crash cart that had been provided by one of Alec's many procurement missions. As the transhuman set the machine and applied gel to the paddles, Max turned her attention to the people who could save Alec.

"_DON'T YOU LET HIM GO, YOU HEAR ME?! __**DON'T YOU LET HIM GO!!**_"

Vash's eyebrows drew together, trying to tune out Max's hysteria. This wasn't any transgenic she was trying to save; it was Alec. Terminal City's second in command. The man that everyone loved. She was finding it hard to maintain the detachment that Manticore had forcibly drilled into her. She looked up to see Widget rubbing the paddles together to spread the gel evenly over them.

Vash backed away from Alec quickly to give the medic a clear path. Widget brought the paddles down on Alec's bloody chest and pressed the button. His back arched up from the bed as electricity surged through him. Max's body jerked in Joshua's grasp in time with the surge that went through Alec's form. The heart monitor continued its horrific scream.

"Alec, you wake up RIGHT NOW, damn you! That's a FUCKING ORDER!" Max spat out the last two words. She squinted her eyes, trying to catch any sign of life as Alec's bed arched off the bed yet again.

Vash motioned to Widget and took the paddles from him, taking over. The medic took over breathing for Alec as Vash turned to raise the number of joules on the machine. She turned back, holding the paddles above her patient's chest, ready to try again.

"Clear! I said _CLEAR_, goddammit!"

Widget backed away, hands upraised, nose twitching nervously. Vash shocked Alec again, but the monitor stubbornly remained in flatline.

Joshua closed his eyes, unable to watch his one friend fall apart as the other lay dying. He held Max tight, memories of Annie coming unbidden into his head. No, he couldn't think about her know. He didn't have time for his own grief, for Annie...or for Alec. He needed to be strong for Max. And so he held her as she screamed at Alec, until the fight began to wear out of her, and her struggles became quieter.

"Alec, come on, _don't do this_." Max's voice was hoarse now, the screaming taking its toll. She could no longer sustain her anger at the injustice of Alec lying there in his own blood, his life fading. Her cries now became pleas. She could hear Joshua begin to keen as he held her, and there were other sounds of despair from behind him. They were giving up hope...but she couldn't. Not yet.

"You _can't _go. You're too important. We need you.... _I_ need you." Max's couldn't take her eyes from Alec's face--a face normally so animated, so full of life, now bruised and bloody and still. The thought of never seeing that face again, never hearing that joyous laugh, never seeing that cocky smirk, of never staring into his startling gold-flecked green eyes, was unbearable.

Vash turned back to the crash cart and spun the dial that set the number of joules to the far right. Widget came up behind her with a concerned look on his face, nose set to twitching again with nerves.

"What are you doing? That much will kill him!" Even in a panic, his voice was still soft, as if he was in a library and afraid to piss off the librarian.

Vash turned back to Alec with the paddles poised over his chest. There was no time for hesitation or second-guessing. This would either work, or Alec would be dead. End of story. She whipped her head toward her chief medic, daring him to stop her.

"He's X5! He can take it. He'll be dead anyway if we don't," she replied harshly.

As Vash began to lower the paddles to Alec's chest one last time, Max completely stilled in Joshua's arms. Tears now flowed freely, washing away some of Alec's blood that spotted her face. Her full, bottom lip trembled. She grasped Joshua's arms tightly, fingers of one hand digging into his one arm, the plastic cylinder digging into the other. Her head lowered slightly, and she watched Alec from under heavy, wet eyelashes. Her next word came out as a heartrending sob.

"_Please_..."

The paddles touched down on Alec's chest, and his body arched from the bed so hard it seemed as if it should snap. Max could see the electricity coursing through him, hear it crackle, setting every hair in his body on end. As he crashed back down on the bed, everyone in the room was startled as the screaming monitor was silenced...

...and then it beeped. And beeped again.

Widget bent over the monitor. "We've got a rhythm!" he said as excitedly as his quiet voice would let him. "We got him back!"

Max closed her eyes and sagged in Joshua's arms, her knees suddenly like water. She would have fallen to the floor in a puddle if he hadn't held her up. Dalton was not so lucky; he collapsed to his knees, head in his hands to hide his tears. Mole sagged against a table, head hung low as he brought a hand up to rub the tight muscles in his neck.

Vash tossed the paddles back on the cart and turned her head to the weary transgenics, Alec's closest friends. "All right, we need to get him stabilized before we can operate, and you all are too much of a distraction. Take Dalton over to the next room and have someone patch him up. Out. Now!" Confident that in this building, her word was law, Vash turned her back and began to work on saving her patient. He wasn't out of the woods yet.

Max fought feebly as Joshua pulled her from the room, her head turning to watch Alec as he dragged her out the door. Mole helped Dalton up off the floor, and they followed Max and Joshua out into the corridor. All four transgenics were emotionally spent, having just experienced probably one of the most harrowing events of their lives.

Mole looked at Joshua and Max, giving them a short nod of acknowledgment, before half carrying a sagging Dalton down to the next room for treatment. No one had noticed Logan, standing a bit down the hall and flanked by the two X7's, until he gave a short cough. Max and Joshua's heads both turned to him in unison. Both said nothing, but Joshua's upper lip began to rise in the beginnings of a snarl. He had heard Dalton's story, and knew Logan was responsible for putting Alec in harm's way.

While he was forced to wait in the hall, Logan had paced back and forth, overcome with guilt. Guilt that he had sent Alec out there alone. Guilt that he had lied to Max about it. And guilt that some dark, tiny part of him wished that Alec wouldn't make it, that the chief obstacle that had stood between him and Max the last few months would be gone. As he walked over Max, stopping at the standard distance that had developed between them ever since the virus, one look at her made him think that even if Alec did die, his memory would still stand between them. As she looked up and stared into his eyes, face splattered with blood and eyes so…_haunted_, he realized that he just might have lost her for good.

He silently cursed himself for being a complete and utter selfish bastard. How could he have not thought of the consequences, of what could go wrong? Since the siege, Max had refused to allow any transgenics to go on EO missions for a reason; the dangers were too great. He had been so consumed by his need to find the cure, he had failed to realize the danger he had put Alec in.

They say love is blind, but it is also blinding. He had let his love for Max had blind him to all else, with dire consequences. He wasn't sure if any amount of apologies or explanations could make it right.

"I … uh... just wanted to…. I thought…" Logan began but trailed off, nervously reaching up to adjust his glasses. He didn't know what to say. "Is he…?

Max didn't answer. She just continued to stare at Logan, as if her mind was still in the room with Alec and couldn't process why Logan was there. Joshua stepped close behind Max in a move that clearly told Logan to back off.

"Alec alive," Joshua said stiffly. He didn't elaborate. He was too busy trying to keep from picking up the cyber-journalist and smashing him into the nearest wall once or twice.

Logan swallowed hard when he saw the look in the transhuman's normally peaceful eyes. When he looked back to Max, she was no longer looking at him, but was staring down at an object in her left hand. As she slowly raised her arm and opened her palm to expose the object, Logan gasped. Alec hadn't failed. After over a year and a half of waiting, Max finally held the cure in her hand.

Max stared intently down at the object in her open palm, finally seeing it. She had been so consumed by Alec's plight, she had almost forgotten the thing he had handed her with what he thought was his dying breath.

It was a small, clear, plastic cylinder, no more than six inches long and less than two inches wide. Inside, there was what appeared to be a glass vial suspended by rings of plastic. A slightly off-color liquid sloshed lightly in the vial. Max's eyes widened when she realized just what Alec had given her, what he and Dalton had risked their lives for, why Alec was lying in the other room with two bullets in his chest that might just yet take his life. With Logan standing across from her, there could be no doubt what she held in her hands.

_It was the cure. The fucking cure_.

Max suddenly felt as if she was on fire. Her blood was too hot. It sped through her veins at unnatural speed. He had done this for her. Even after his last…even after he had confessed he had feelings for her, that he loved…he had given her a way to touch _another _man, the man she had always thought she'd been in love with. Why would he have done that? She it her bottom lip and continued to stare at the means of Alec's possible destruction. That was when she finally noticed it.

_The blood._

It was smeared over the cylinder, and _oh God_, it was on her hands. _Alec's blood was on her hands_.

Max began to hyperventilate. Alec's blood was on her hands, and more than the actual physical substance. It all came back to _her_. It was _her _fault. If he died, his life would be on her hands. She felt sick, and brought her hand up to cover her mouth. It was then that she felt the stickiness on her face, and realized Alec's blood was splattered all over her. Her other senses kicked into overdrive. She felt each individual droplet on her skin, could see every little spot in startling red, could smell the coppery scent of blood that hinted of Alec, could taste the blood that had spattered on her lips. It was more than she could bear. She let out a whimpering cry before closing her fist around the cylinder, spinning around and running from the building, leaving startled human and transgenics in her wake as she blazed out into the night.

* * *

Joshua nervously paced in Alec's living room. After Max had run out into the night, and he had recovered from his initial shock, he had run after her, concerned what she might do in her current state. She wasn't thinking clearly. He was afraid she just might try to run right out TC's front gates to head for the Space Needle, military presence be damned. But she had turned instead and headed toward the building that housed her apartment.

Once Max entered the building, he had lost sight of her, but he figured she was headed to her place. As he reached her floor, he started down the hall toward her apartment, but paused as he passed Alec's door. It was ajar. Max hadn't thought to seek refuge in her own place; she had run to a place where she felt safe…protected.

Thanks to his artistic nature, Joshua was a keen observer, and he was pretty sure that he understood his friends far better than they understood themselves. He knew that over the past months, Max had changed a lot. At some point, she had stopped fighting against her own nature, rebelling against the things that made her different from normal girls. She had stopped wanting things that could never be, and instead began to accept herself for who she was. Accepting her own transgenic nature helped her to accept Alec's, and at some point, Alec became home to her.

Joshua knew that Alec and Max loved each other. He was not sure exactly when it had happened, but he knew it was there. Just like he knew that eventually, with in all probability a lot of screaming and a few bumps and bruises, they would come to realize it themselves.

As he paced Alec's ramshackle living room, he was horribly afraid that they would never get the chance. One lay in Medical, his life hanging in the balance, while the other was huddled in Alec's bathroom, her mind hanging in the balance.

Max had been in Alec's bathroom for almost forty-five minutes. The shower was running full blast, Max frantically washing all traces of Alec's blood from her body. He desperately hoped Mole would arrive soon so he could change out of his own clothes, which were soaked with Alec's blood. He had gone in once to try to convince Max to come out, keeping his eyes averted from her nakedness. When she didn't respond, he had tried pulling her out, but quickly found that wet, X5 females who did not want to be moved were very slippery. As Joshua continued to wear a path in Alec's already threadbare carpet, he spun when he heard the door of Alec's apartment open.

Mole pushed open the door, shrugging his shoulders to adjust the shotgun slung across his back, feeling slightly apprehensive about walking into Alec's apartment without Alec there. And thinking about why Alec was not there lead to a whole bunch of other emotions that Mole did not care to admit that he even had. He tossed the sack of clothes to Joshua.

"Ya know, Josh, you'd be able to get a hold of me a whole lot quicker if you would just carry a radio like everybody else. The transgenic express is a little outdated. What's going on?" As Joshua struggled out of his bloodstained shirt, Mole glanced around the room to try to figure out the problem. That was when he saw him, sitting quietly on the far corner of Alec's couch. Mole's hands clenched into fists.

"What the hell is _he _doing here?" he asked in a tone that indicated there better be a damn good reason that Logan Cale was sitting in the apartment of the man he had almost gotten killed.

Joshua threw a brief glance at Logan, then looked away dismissively. "He followed. Not important. Max important right now."

Mole took a threatening step toward Logan. "Yeah, well _I_ think it's important. You tell the chimp here that he'd better get out before I decide to ventilate Alec's apartment by throwing him out the window."

Logan stood. He wanted desperately to defend himself, but knew that he really had no right. "Look, I just want to make sure that Max is okay," he said quietly.

Mole stepped up so that he was face to scaly face with Cale. "She would be okay if Alec wasn't lying in a _POOL OF HIS OWN FUCKIN' BLOOD_, thanks to _YOU_!"

Joshua placed a hand on Mole's shoulder, pulling him back. There was no time for accusations or blame. Max needed their help now. He saw that Logan visibly relaxed, and figured the man thought he was about to defend him. He stepped in front of Mole to look down on Logan.

"Logan needs to go. Now."

Logan looked confused for a second. He appeared torn between his desire to help Max and his need to be anywhere but near the two hostile transhumans.

Joshua rarely ever raised his voice, but when he did, it was truly frightening. "GO NOW!" he yelled, teeth showing.

The cyber-journalist finally took the hint and skirted around the two transhumans. He turned and glanced back at the closed door to the bathroom one last time, a pained look on his face, before walking out the door.

Now that the distraction was gone, Joshua grabbed Mole by the arms and dragged him over to the bathroom door.

"Max. Shower. Long time. Cold water." He ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "Talking to self. No good, no good, everything FUBAR."

Mole leaned wearily against the bathroom's door jam, listening to Max's occasional muttered words and stifled sobs. "You're telling me, brother."

Joshua didn't think that Mole clearly understood the seriousness of the situation. "Must get Little Fella out now. Cold water. Go into shock."

Mole straightened. An action was needed, and he was good at action. "Well, why didn't you just haul her outta there? Let's go." He stuck a hand on the doorknob, prepared to barge in when Joshua put a hand over his to stop him.

"Little fella naked."

Mole pulled his hand back from the knob as if it had burned him. The prospect of a wet, naked, half-crazed alpha female was definitely not the plan. When he looked at Joshua, we was sure that his own face echoed the panicky look he saw there.

"Well... uh... somebody's gotta... um... get her outta there." Mole rarely ever stumbled over his words; he usually steam rolled over them. But at this moment, he was fully ready to admit that he was scared shitless that Joshua was going to tell him that that somebody was him.

Joshua once again grabbed Mole's arms, and excited look on his face. "Little Fella not listen. Need someone she will listen to. Need Original Cindy."

Mole chewed on his ever-present cigar thoughtfully and nodded. He didn't care for ordinaries, but he, and just about every other transgenic in Terminal City, had a soft spot for Max's outspoken friend.

"I think you're on to something there." Joshua moved to walk out of the apartment, presumably to send someone after OC. Mole grabbed his arm to stop him, at the same time pulling the radio from his belt. "Live in the now, man." He brought his radio up and pressed the button.

"Border Patrol, come in, Border Patrol, this is Mole. Copy?"

_Mole, this is Zev, I copy. Is Alec all right? _Zev sounded a bit frantic, most likely fearing the worst.

"Roger that. He's hanging in there. Gonna be touch and go. We need a favor."

_Name it and it's yours._

"We need two of your crew to retrieve Original Cindy and bring her back to Alec's apartment ASAP. We need her to talk Max down."

There was a pause as Zev was apparently processing the information on the other end. When she spoke again, her voice was once again her normal authoritative tone.

_Copy that. I'll send Oscar and Trix. They're my best. They'll be able to get there and back with zero detection._

"Affirmative. Make it a go. Mole out." As he returned the radio to his belt, both he and Joshua slid down opposite sides of the doorframe to floor. The night's events had taken its toll on everyone. Through the door, they could actually hear Max's teeth chattering.

Mole rested his forearms on his knees and hung his head. With Alec in critical condition and Max currently out of commission, he had just realized that he was affectively in charge of TC.

"This is gonna be a long night."

* * *

Original Cindy slugged through the sewers behind Oscar and a dark-haired X4 who had introduced herself as Trix. They had scared the bejesus out of her when she had woken up from a sound sleep to find the two of them at the base of her bed. The little cutie Oscar, whose baby face made you just want to pinch his cheeks and give him a cookie, had quickly explained the situation, causing OC to send covers flying as she sprung out of bed and frantically hopped into some clothes. She knew her girl was gonna be in rough shape, and there was no time to be concerned about fashion sense.

She seriously wished she'd had the presence of mind to grab something other than open-toed sandals, which had been the first pair of shoes she had come across. She was definitely going to need an hour-long foot soak and an emergency pedicure after this.

She was falling behind again. Another problem with the sandals was that they had very little traction against the wet floor of the sewer tunnel, causing her to slip several times. She was beginning to get frustrated, and she could tell that the two transgenics were becoming frustrated with her too. When Oscar turned around for the fifth time, mouth opening to tell her once more to hurry--_as if she didn't know that_--OC lost her cool.

"Goin' as fast as I can. OC ain't no revved up super soldier, and she damn sure don't have no night vision, neither. You tell me to hurry it up again, Original Cindy is gonna lay the smackdown on yo' little boy ass."

Oscar's jaw shut with an audible snap and he blushed, though Cindy couldn't see it. He quietly waited, looking contrite, as OC caught up, then continued on in silence, occasionally offering the dark-skinned beauty a steadying hand on her arm. The kid was so sugary sweet, Cindy felt bad for yelling at him...even if he was a genetically engineered kid that was probably capable of killing her in 0.2 seconds flat if he wanted. Oscar only wanted her to get to Max as quick as possible. Cindy could understand that. She was going out of her mind with worry.

As OC focused on putting one foot in front of the other without losing the tenuous hold she had on her balance, her worry doubled as she thought about Alec. She didn't want to think about him right now, because she was really not sure how much worry she could take without breaking down into tears. She couldn't imagine what Max was going through.

Like Joshua, Original Cindy was a keen observer. She'd known Max for a long time, and she knew her well. She had seen Max fight herself in order to continually push Alec away. Now, OC normally spoke her mind, and was incredibly free with offering her opinion on any and all matters that fell into her area of expertise, but she held back on confronting Max on her feelings. Sometimes a girl had to accept the home truths on her own.

Sometimes a girl needed a little nudge in the right direction, too, which is why she had always referred to Alec as Max's boy. She shoulda known that girl would insist on holding out as long as possible. From what she heard of Max's current situation, apparently Alec's brush with death had given her friend that final push. OC hoped like hell that it wasn't too late.

Original Cindy breathed a sigh of relief when Oscar radioed to report to the border guards that friendlies were approaching. As she trudged up the steep ramp and out into the toxic, night air of Terminal City, she was greeted by a Zev, the red-headed X5 that Max had bitched about the past month or two, claiming the woman was trying to distract her SIC. OC's Max-translator had been fully functioning at the time, and had interpreted this to mean that the bitch-ho had been trying to poach on Max's territory. The only thing she saw in Zev's face now, however, was concern, followed quickly by relief.

"Finally!" Zev said in an exasperated huff. "Oscar, escort Original Cindy to Alec's apartment immediately. Trix, you're with me."

OC, now bent over and breathing a bit heavy from her trek, held up a hand to stop the transgenics from just bulldozing over her.

"Wait…" she panted, now straightening and putting a hand over the sudden stitch that had developed in her side. "Need to see Alec first. My boo's gonna want firsthand knowledge he's aiight."

Zev took a step toward OC and started to open her mouth to order Oscar to drag her to Alec's apartment if he had to, but stopped when she saw the look of stubborn determination on the girl's face. She respected that. For a human, OC was quite formidable.

She gave the woman a nod of respect. Without breaking eye contact with OC, she gave Oscar revised orders.

"Escort her to Medical." Narrowing her eyes, she added, "Ten minutes. Then you go do what you can to fix our CO."

* * *

Oscar stopped at the door to Alec's apartment. "This is it," he said to Original Cindy.

Oscar refused to go inside. Just like he had refused to go inside when he had taken the woman to see Alec. There was something about seeing your leaders laid low that was too disturbing. He'd wanted no part of it, just has he wanted no part of dealing with what was behind Alec's apartment door. It may be cowardly, but hey, he was just a fucking kid. Manticore trained soldier or not, he had a right to act his age once in a while. And no fourteen-year-old in his right mind would want to deal with shit like this. As soon as Cindy stepped in the door, he blurred out of there, glad to escape.

Original Cindy stepped into Alec's apartment to find Mole fast asleep in a sitting position beside what she assumed was Alec's bathroom door. As soon as she took two steps, Mole's head snapped up, hand tightening on his ever present shotgun before he realized who the intruder was. He visibly relaxed, then nodded his head at the door. Words were not necessary.

OC strode purposefully to the door, ready to burst in and rescue her girl, but found herself frozen in front of the closed door, hand hovering over the knob. He mind flashed back to what she had seen in TC's Medical Bay: Alec, pale as death and unmoving, lying there breathing through a tube as the medical crew worked on him. OC shut her eyes suddenly at the memory of Alec's chest, splayed open wide, red with blood, ribs spread apart so the doctor could reach in to repair the damage to his lung. She had almost passed out right then and there. She had dug her well-manicured fingernails into her palms to maintain as she has asked the doc about Alec's condition.

What on earth was she gonna say if Max asked her about him? How could she possibly tell her what she had seen? She gathered her courage and opened the door.

Joshua was pacing, as much as the small bathroom would allow him to pace. He had a hand held up against the side of his face to protect Max's modesty. When he finally took notice of OC, he practically pounced on her--as much as seven-foot dog-men are capable of pouncing--grabbing her by the arms and lifting her right off the ground.

"Original Cindy here. Ugh. So glad Cindy here. Alec FUBAR, Little Fella all wack, Cindy help Joshua, please, help Max," at which point, Joshua set Cindy down, "won't listen, won't come out, two hours, naked, Joshua can't look…" All of this came out in a rush as Joshua was so excited that help had arrived at last. He was cut off when OC placed a hand over his mouth to silence him.

"It's aiight, now. Cindy's here, and she gonna make everything better. I _got _this, doggy-dog."

Joshua nodded, ducked his head, then grabbed Cindy up in a big hug before leaving Max in her care. Cindy turned to the shower, and her mouth dropped open in shock.

Max was huddled in the bottom of Alec's shower, naked, water pounding down on her full blast from the showerhead. She had pulled down Alec's shower curtain. It lay crumpled on the floor, half in, half out of the shower. Her hair hung in tangles in her face, and she was shaking from the cold, her skin and lips showing proof of how cold the water was from their bluish tinge. She was scrubbing at her hands, which were so raw they looked like they might start bleeding at any moment. She could hear Max muttering to herself, then her eyes widened in shock as Max suddenly slammed her head back into the hard ceramic tiles of the stall, punctuating each slam with a scream.

"STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!"

Cindy fell to her knees beside Max. She wanted to gather Max up and hold her, but she knew that in Max wasn't thinking straight right now, and she might react badly to someone touching her.

"Boo?" she said quietly, hoping to get a response.

Max didn't seem to hear her. She continued to scrub herself, her one foot sliding out to knock into a plastic cylinder that lay in the shallow water pooled in the bottom of the stall.

OC finally caught a glimpse of Max's eyes, which were wide and fully dilated and staring, but not seeing. That was when she truly began to panic, afraid that she might not be able to pull Max back from this.

"Max?" she pleaded, her voice wavering with fear.

Max's head began to tightly shake back and forth, some part of her finally registering that her friend was there. She knew that Original Cindy was going to try to get her out of the shower. She had to explain, had to make her understand why she couldn't.

"Buh-buh-blood..." Max stuttered through chattering teeth, still scrubbing at her hands.

Some of the tightness in OC's chest eased. At least her girl had finally recognized her presence. She tentatively reached out a hand to touch Max's shoulder. Max jerked and shied away from the touch. She glanced down at Max's hands, which were red and raw from the scrubbing, but there was no blood.

"There's no blood, boo. It's all gone," she said in her most soothing tone.

"_Ssssmell it! _C-c-can ssstill _ssssmell it!" _Max cried.

OC took a chance, reaching up to turn off the freezing water. Max stopped scrubbing, though her body was still racked with chills; she was confused by the sudden lack of water. OC grabbed her hands. It was time to take charge.

"Max," she said in a stern, non-nonsense voice, "you freezing yoself blue. There is no blood. You need to get it together and get out of this shower right now. What good you gonna be to Alec like this?"

The mention of Alec's name was all it took. She wrapped her arms around herself, and her body, if it was even possible, shook harder than ever before.

"I d-didn't m-m-mean it, I d-didn't mean it, I didn't m-mean it," Max chanted, in time with her rocking.

OC's eyes drew together at this, not understanding. "What didn't you mean, shugga?" she asked carefully.

Max finally raised her head and turned it to OC, truly seeing her for the first time since she came into the bathroom. OC drew in a breath in shock at the anguished look in Max's eyes.

"I s-said when he guh-guh-got b-back, he was a de…de… _dead man_! I d-didn't mean it! Oh, G-God, _I didn't M-MEAN IT!_"

As Max finally spoke aloud the horrible thought that had been creeping around in the back of her mind since she first saw Alec bruised and bloody in the sewer tunnel, it was as if a dam broke. She collapsed out of the shower stall and into Cindy's waiting arms, overcome by gut-wrenching sobs.

OC brushed Max's hair out of her face as she rocked her, making soothing hushing sounds like someone would make for a crying baby. She tried to reach for the stack of towels on the toilet lid, but found that Max had a death grip on her, and she couldn't reach.

"Joshua!" OC yelled at the closed door.

Joshua burst through the door, a look of fear on his face as if he was afraid Max had finally succumbed to shock from the cold water. As he saw a shivering, naked Max wrapped around OC, he breathed a sigh of relief...then immediately turned his back as he realized his friend was still very naked.

OC rolled her eyes. "Doggy-dog, grab me some towels. Max got OC in the transgenic lockdown here."

Joshua took a shuffling sidestep over to the toilet, keeping his back turned. He grabbed the stack of towels and held them behind him, backing up until he felt OC's hand grab the stack.

"Little Fella be okay now?" he asked hopefully. His heart was breaking at the sobs pouring from Max, but at least she was out of the cold water.

OC glanced down at the still shaking, sobbing friend. She rolled her eyes heavenward, as if a little divine help would have been nice.

"Eventually, Josh. Eventually. Give us some time here, aiight?"

Joshua nodded his head, and then quietly walked out and pulled the door shut with a soft click. OC turned back to her friend, tears gathering in her eyes at the sound of Max's pain.

"Alec's alive, boo. I checked on him myself. They got the bullets out, and he's still alive. You gotta hang on to that." Max cried even harder at this, though OC was unsure if it was from fear of what had happened to Alec or relief that he was still alive.

"He's _alive_, Max. He's strong." OC paused, a small crooked smile on her face. "You know that tomcat got nine lives. Just used one up, is all."

She pulled Max from her, then placed her hands on each side of her friends tear-streaked face, forcing Max to look at her. Her eyes looked incredibly wide, standing out against skin that still held a slight bluish tinge from the cold. Those eyes, so full of pain, now held just a glimmer of hope.

"He'll get through this, Max. You gotta believe he will." She smiled and pulled Max back to her in a bear hug.

"'Sides, yo' boy too pretty to die."

At this, Max made a noise that was a combination of a laugh and a sob. She was finally coming back to herself, after having come completely and utterly undone. She hugged her friend tight, overcome with relief that she was here. She let out another small sob, then sniffed.

"I n-need him, Cindy." She closed her eyes tight against her own words. "I can't lose him. I _can't_."

They stayed on Alec's bathroom floor for some time, just hanging on to each other. After the blue tinge finally began to fade from Max's skin, OC maneuvered her friend off the floor and began to dry her off. Before she had helped Max from the floor, her friend had reached back into the shower and retrieved the plastic cylinder from the bottom of the stall. OC wrapped Max in several of Alec's towels, then sat her friend down on the toilet lid, grabbing one of Alec's combs so she could work the tangles from Max's hair.

Max was like an automaton, just going through the motions, but she refused to let go of the cylinder. She moved whenever OC asked her too, but seemed incapable of doing anything of her own volition. When OC finally ushered her out of the bathroom, intending to take her back to her own apartment for some dry clothes, Max finally made a move on her own and instead turned and headed into Alec's bedroom.

OC turned to Joshua, who stood in the living room, waiting to be of service. Mole had apparently left some time after OC arrived. She shrugged, then turned to follow her friend. Just before she entered the door, she asked Joshua to grab some clothes from Max's apartment, enough for two. The combination of sewers and holding Max's waterlogged body had soaked her to the bone.

When she stepped through the door of the bedroom, she expected to find Max curled on the bed. Instead, her friend stood in front of an old, scarred, tall dresser. The plastic cylinder lay on the bottom of Alec's bed, forgotten. Max slowly opened the second drawer from the top, pulling out a well-worn grey hooded sweatshirt. She ran a hand over the soft fabric, then lowered her head as she raised the shirt to her face, inhaling deeply. The tears that OC had been fighting all night spilled over at the sight of Max clutching Alec's shirt as if it was a lifeline.

Max straightened and let the towels around her drop and puddle around her ankles. She pulled the sweatshirt on over her head, the too large garment hanging loose on her frame. She reached in and grabbed a pair of dark blue sweats, rolling them at the waist to make up for Alec's greater height. Enveloped in the soft fabric that carried Alec's scent, she sank down near the top of his bed and curled herself into a ball, eyes locked on the cylinder lying at the bottom of the bed.

Once Joshua had brought some of Max's clothes, OC changed out of her own damp ones. She joined Max on Alec's bed, wrapping a protective arm around her friend. After what must have been at least a half an hour, she could hear Max's rhythmic breathing as she finally fell asleep. Her friend safely in dreamland, OC allowed herself to finally drift off to sleep herself. Hopefully, tomorrow would be a better day.

"_Can't ever keep from falling apart  
__At the seams  
__Can't I believe you're taking my heart  
__To pieces" _

~ "Come Undone" Duran Duran

* * *

The next morning, which was really only about four hours since Max and Cindy had fallen asleep, Max sat propped up at the head of Alec's bed, arms wrapped around her legs and chin propped on her knees, still staring at the cure. Her face was devoid of all emotion.

Original Cindy had gone out to the kitchen to make some coffee. She had woken up Joshua, who had fallen asleep on Alec's couch, arms and legs hanging over as the thing was way too small to hold his large frame. She had grilled the dog-man on what the hell had happened the night before. Josh had given her the events as he knew them, hearing only the short story that Dalton had spilled out in a rush when they had brought Alec in. Joshua also told Cindy that he was pretty sure that the cylinder held the cure to the virus bitch, and that Alec had almost died to get it.

OC had nodded her head, then carried two cups of coffee back into the bedroom. She sat down on the bed next to Max, holding out one of the cups of coffee. Max took it without ever taking her eyes off the cure. She was about to speak when Max cut her off, face still like stone, still refusing to look anywhere else but at the cure.

"You should probably go. I don't want you to get sick from the toxins."

OC gave Max a knowing smile, fully aware that she was trying to push away anything and everyone that would cause her to feel. Max was shutting down her emotions. OC had to stop her before she shut down completely.

"Oh, I think Original Cindy can handle more than a coupl'a hours of toxic soup." She glanced down at the sole object of Max's attention. "You gonna take it?"

A OC suspected, this was the question that snapped Max's emotions back in place. She whipped her head to look at OC, coffee sloshing a bit on her hands as she turned.

"I don't give a _damn _about the _fucking cure_!"

The words had spilled out of Max vehemently and without thought. She stilled, realizing the importance of what she had just said. Now that her brain was fully functional again, she had been unable to think of anything but the cylinder sitting at the bottom of Alec's bed and the events that had brought it to her, the damage it had done. But with everything that had happened, she had forgotten the significance out what was resting safely inside the clear plastic. The thing that she had wanted desperately for over a year. The thing that she had used to keep a wedge between her and Alec, always reminding him that he was to blame that it was lost to her. The thing that she had thought would solve all of the problems between her and Logan.

The cure.

Max felt as if the light had just been turned on and she could finally see. The words she had blurted out in anger were true. She no longer gave a damn. The cure wouldn't fix what was wrong between her and Logan, and even if it could, she didn't really think she wanted it to. And the main reason for _that _was lying in a bed in Medical, fighting for his life.

Max didn't want to think about Alec right now, about what he had said to her, about what she felt for him. If she did, she thought she might end up right back where she was last night, in a sobbing heap on the floor. There would be time to think of it later, when she had more time to regain control of herself. She had to believe there would be more time, that Alec would hang on and give her that time to figure everything out, because any other belief was unacceptable.

"I think you should take it," OC said quietly.

Max drew her head back in shock at what her friend had just said, the look on her face clearly asking OC if she was crazy.

OC tilted her head and shrugged. "Don't want everything yo' boy went through to be for nothin', do ya?"

Max turned once again to stare at the cure. Her muscles seemed to tense, preparing to take action on a momentous decision. After a moment, her whole body relaxed, and she nodded, having decided on a course of action. She drew in a deep cleansing breath, then let it out slowly.

"_Joshua_!" Max yelled at the cracked bedroom door, certain her large friend was waiting right outside.

Joshua hesitantly peeked his head in the door. "Little Fella?" he asked questioningly.

Max nodded to the cylinder at the end of the bed. "Have someone take that down to Medical and have a tech screen it against the sample of my blood they have on file. Make sure it's really a cure for the virus."

Joshua eyes widened, but he nodded and obeyed, grabbing the cylinder off the bed.

"And get me Dalton." Max added. "I want to hear the full story of what went down last night, and I want it now."

Max's eyes narrowed as she thought of the events from last night. There was some unfinished business there. As Joshua turned to walk out the door, she called out to him.

"And Joshua..." When the transhuman turned back to her, he his raised eyebrows at the small, evil-looking smile on Max's face.

"Bring me Zev."

* * *

A/N: Sorry! Looks like you'll still have to wait to find out what happens to Alec. He's not out of the woods yet. Did you forget that I was _eeevvviiiillll_?

If I got any of the medical stuff wrong, please forgive me. It has been a very long time since I watched ER. Let's just chalk it up to artistic license. As for the Max/Logan showdown a lot of you are begging for, don't worry. We'll get there. Coming up … Home Truths.


	10. Ch 9: Home Truths

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: You know what? I'm getting tired of finding new ways to say this. Don't own it. Nuff said.

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

A/N: Here it comes, what you've all been waiting for…The Max and Logan Showdown. Oh, and more artistic license with the medical stuff, so if that happens to be your thing, just know that it is definitely not mine.

Warning: One pissed off Max and everything that entails: language (_lots_ of it), violence… you fill in the blanks. I don't want to give it away.

* * *

Chapter 9: Home Truths 

It was well past sunset. Max walked through the near deserted streets of Terminal City, the hood of Alec's grey sweatshirt pulled over her head to protect her from the light rain. She had been unnaturally chilled lately, and she found that she couldn't part with the shirt. It seemed to be the only thing that could keep her warm.

She had found herself in tears that afternoon, when she had pulled it on over her t-shirt, and had spent several minutes after trying to figure out why she was crying before she realized it. _It was his scent. It was fading_. The shirt held only a hint of the unique sent that was Alec. A few more days and it would be gone altogether. The realization had left her huddled on the floor at the base of Alec's bed--the same bed where she lain awake, pretending to sleep so Joshua wouldn't worry, for the past few days. She lost track of time as she sat there, with her head on knees, eyes wide and unblinking, breathing heavy as she tried to regain control of herself. She had eventually marshaled her strength and been able to face the day. But she hadn't taken off his sweatshirt.

Light from the street lamps glinted gently in the puddles, then scattered as it was disturbed by Max's slow but steady steps. She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Each step that took her closer to her destination seemed more difficult, as if her body was fighting her, insisting that she shouldn't go there, that she couldn't it take anymore. But if Max was anything, she was stubborn, and she continued on, no matter how hard the journey had become.

It had been three days. Three days since Alec had died.

* * *

Max stopped under an overhang, partly to get out of the rain for a few minutes, but mostly to gather her thoughts. Alec had been dead. His heart had stopped beating in his chest, a chest that had failed to rise and fall as he no longer drew breath. He'd been dead and gone for fourteen minutes and eight seconds. It had felt like forever. 

Vash had basically electrocuted him to bring him back. She had sent so many joules of electricity coursing through him that it would have fried an ordinary human. The doctor was not really sure yet of the consequences of what she had risked to bring Alec back. He hadn't woken up since. He had been in a coma for three days.

After they had successfully removed the bullets from Alec's chest and stopped the bleeding, the Doc had called everyone back to her office in the Medical building to update them on his condition. She had wanted them all there so she wouldn't have to repeat herself, because if there was one thing Vash despised, it was wasting her time. Max, with Original Cindy tagging along, had been the first to arrive. Vash refused to run through it until Mole and Joshua, assisting a ragged-looking Dalton, had arrived.

"_Okay, I'm going to go through this just once, so save the questions until I finish," Vash said as she stood before the group._

_The doctor ran down the list of Alec's injuries for his band of friends as if it were a grocery list. Their faces all took on varied looks of shock and amazement that Alec was still alive. Vash's impersonal tone dispassionately listed in layman's terms the grievances done to their SIC._

"_Gunshot wound, high right-side of chest; fractured right shoulder blade; gunshot wound to right middle of chest; lung perforated and collapsed; numerous abrasions on his left leg, arm, and side; fractured left cheekbone; additional lacerations and extensive bruising. He's in a coma, but he's damn lucky to be alive._ _Manticore would have salvaged him for parts_."

_The response was stunned silence, until they heard what sounded like a small laugh from Dalton. Everyone's eyes turned to him, afraid he might be cracking under the strain of what he had gone through with Alec. This was certainly not the time for levity. Dalton just leaned heavily against Vash's desk, one arm wrapped protectively around his broken ribs. He shook his head lightly, a grimace marring his features._

"_Man, Alec is gonna be _pissed_. White broke his face." _

_They all found themselves smiling slightly at the comment, even Max. That Dalton believed Alec was going to be pissed indicated that Alec would be alive to be pissed about it, and that was all that mattered._

Max continued her slow, tortuous walk to the Medical building. She had visited Alec several times a day, every day since he'd been shot. She always found herself visiting him at night, when most of Terminal City was asleep. She hadn't slept since the night she and Alec had fought in his apartment, the night before he was shot.

It got harder and harder each time she went to see him and there was no change. It was torture to look upon a body once so full of life it was practically bursting at the seams, now so still. It hurt to see him like that, but Max felt that it was no more than she deserved. He was there because of her, after all.

Max sighed as she opened the door to the Medical Building. It transformed into a light growl as a startled Zev stood in the doorway, reaching for the same door. Max's eyes narrowed. The red-headed X-5 immediately raised her hands in a sign of surrender, and Max could see that one of her forearms was bandaged.

"I know, I know, I'm headed back right now. Just cut myself on an old grate and had to get patched up. I'm headed back now." And with that, Zev pushed past her and out the door.

Max turned, her eyes following the woman's retreating form. When Joshua had brought Zev to Alec's apartment three days ago, she'd found that a lot of the anger she had for the head of their Border Patrol had left her. She had just been too emotionally drained to hang on to that level of fury. She'd no longer had the urge to pound Zev's face into a bloody pulp, but that didn't stop her from verbally tearing Zev a new one. The X-5 had stood at parade rest, eyes locked, while Max had berated and railed at her for her inferior skills. All the while during the tirade, Original Cindy had looked on with a smug _take that, bitch _look on her face while Joshua paced and wrung his hands. Max had gone as far as to suggest that maybe they needed a new CO for the Border Patrol. Zev had bristled at that, but she had remained silent.

At this point, Max had decided that they didn't need a new CO for the border, they needed a better idea of the security risks and possible weak spots. She had _suggested_, in a tone that indicated it was not even remotely a suggestion, that Zev personally scout the sewers, sub-basements, and steam tunnels under TC to get a better understanding of the problem. And, she had added, since Alec was out of commission temporarily, she was sure that Zev would volunteer to man his shifts in Command, when she wasn't working on the border issue. Zev had acknowledged all of this with nothing but a stiff "affirmative." Max recognized the guilt in Zev's eyes, because she had seen it reflected back at her when she looked in the mirror on Alec's bathroom. She had almost felt bad enough to call Zev back and tell her to forget it--_almost_.

Even though she knew that holding a grudge against Zev was petty and unreasonable, she found that she couldn't let it go. Alec would have most assuredly found another way out if necessary--it wasn't that. _It was that Zev had kissed Alec._

Max shook herself to return to the present. She had no time for Zev right now. Over the past three days, she had traded all of her evening shifts in Command for day shifts. She made sure that everything and everyone that needed her attention was seen to before the sun set. The night belonged to Alec.

When Max finally pushed open the door of the room designated as Critical Care, she wasn't surprised to find a spiky-haired, blonde X-6 sitting in a chair next to Alec's bed. Dalton visited Alec almost as much as Max did. She hung in the doorway, listening as Dalton talked to Alec.

Ever since Vash had said that coma patients could often process voices and sound, Dalton had felt it his mission to keep Alec updated on everything that was going on in TC. He was currently giving Alec and update on the status of the food supply. There was only a slight hint of the bruising that had covered his young face, and a light scar over his left eye that would probably fade completely before another week was out. He held himself a bit stiffly in the chair, due to the bindings around his chest that stabilized his broken ribs. His voice suddenly trailed off, and he bowed his head. When he spoke again, his voice was thick with barely contained emotion.

"I've tried so hard, Alec, to stand in for you, to do what you do. You always made it look so easy. I thought that I could take care of it for you, ya know, while you were resting. But I just can't, I can't keep track of it all, and your suppliers won't deal with a kid. I'm not good enough, not like you. I didn't want to let you down. I..."

Dalton's voice cracked and he trailed off, slowly lowering his head down on the edge of Alec's bed, defeated. Max could hear a muffled sniffle from his direction. Not wanting to let Dalton torture himself anymore, she walked into the room, making sure her footsteps were loud enough to give him time to compose himself.

As she approached where Dalton sat, he raised his head. His eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot. He hadn't quite mastered the ability to lock down his emotions like Alec had always been able to, but he was trying.

"He's gonna be all right, isn't he?" Dalton asked quietly, almost afraid to hear the answer. She felt as if his eyes bore right into her soul, and she felt burdened by the weight of pure trust in his gaze. If she told him that Alec would be all right, then he would be. For Dalton, it was as simple as that.

Max swallowed hard. She kept her eyes locked on Dalton, because she was afraid of how she would react if she looked at Alec right now. She was a leader, and she had to be strong for her people. Even if she was breaking on the inside, she wouldn't let them see. And she hadn't…not since the night she had broken down completely.

She forced a smile on her face and reached up to ruffle Dalton's hair. She had grown quite attached to the kid in the past three days. Maybe it was because she could see so much of Alec's influence in him.

"Of course he is. He's Alec." She was proud that she had been able to keep her tone light and even.

Dalton's body relaxed, and he closed his eyes and nodded. He slowly rose to his feet and gave Alec's hand a squeeze, something a boy his age would have never done to another guy under anything but the direst of circumstances. Embarrassed a little when he realized what he had done and that Max had seen it, he ducked his head and brushed past her, headed out the door. He paused in the threshold, turning his head only enough that his voice would be directed toward Max, but not enough so she would see the expression on his face.

"When he wakes up…" Dalton paused, and Max could hear him take a sudden deep breath, and then release it shakily. He had said _when_, not _if_. "When he wakes up, tell him I was here, and that I'm okay. I wouldn't want him to worry." Then he walked away with the awkward gait caused by his injuries.

Max stared for a while at the doorway vacated by the X-6. She had told Dalton that Alec would be all right. As she stood next to the bed, she finally allowed herself to look at his still form. She immediately closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to fall, bit her bottom lip to stop it from quivering. After taking a moment to gather her strength, she opened her eyes and truly _looked_ at him.

"You'd better not make a liar out of me, Alec," she whispered, a quiet plea.

The first thing that always hit her every time she came to see him was how young and innocent he looked. His face was serene in his unnatural slumber. Without the twinkling, mischievous eyes and confident smirk that had bedeviled her over the past year and a half, his face was practically angelic. There was a smattering of very light freckles over his nose and strong cheekbones--she had never really noticed them until two days ago—that stood out against his pale skin. They made him look like such a little boy. He seemed closer to Dalton's age than her own, and he appeared so vulnerable that she had been hesitant to touch him.

His dark blonde hair stood on end, spiking up wildly from his head--a side affect of the overwhelming amount of energy that had been forced through his body to save him. The butterfly bandages closing the gash over his broken cheekbone and the bruise that still surrounded it were an insult to his otherwise perfect face. Vash had finally been able to remove the ventilator that had been helping Alec breathe for the past few days. It wasn't that he hadn't been capable of breathing on his own; he just needed a bit of assistance due to the massive damage to his lung. Max found that its removal made everything harder to deal with, because without it, he appeared to be just peacefully sleeping. It was like he could open his eyes at any moment and say, _Hey, Maxie_.

The thing that scared Max the most, aside from the fact that he stubbornly refused to wake up, was that he was getting thinner. It had only been three days, and she could see a noticeable difference; his cheeks had hollowed slightly, and his bones seemed to stand out a bit more against his skin. It would have been imperceptible to an ordinary, imperceptible even to a transgenic if they weren't looking, but Max had done nothing but stare at Alec for the past three days, and she saw it.

She had barged into the doctor's office, dragging her back to Alec's side and demanding to know why he was losing weight if he was getting better. Vash, grabbing Max by the arm and sitting her forcibly down in the chair next to Alec, had explained that they were not back at Manticore, and therefore did not have the equipment or the supplies to properly sustain a transgenic in his condition. Even though he lay unmoving, his body was expending a tremendous amount of energy to heal his wounds. The transgenic metabolism, which caused them to run a much higher body temperature than a normal human, also required a greater amount of fuel to feed its fire. Unable to supply that fire, Alec's body sought other means of fuel. His body was consuming itself. Vash, never one to skirt around painful truths, had told her that if Alec didn't wake up within another week, two at the most, his body would ultimately destroy itself.

She tried to keep it light as she spoke to Alec during the darkest hours of the night that had become his and his alone. She tried to keep the fear out of her voice, to keep from breaking down. This got harder and harder as time went on, because each hour he didn't wake brought him closer to death. She wasn't sure if Alec could really hear her, but if he could, then she had to be strong for him. She would be his rock, his anchor to this world.

"Hey, Alec," she said in a bright tone, while she pulled Alec's damp sweatshirt over her head and draped it over the chair to dry. She pulled a band from her wrist and wound her long hair into a knot, securing it with the band.

"Nurse Maxie is here for your sponge bath and rub down. Sorry I don't have the little white dress and hat to go with it. No pinching my ass or looking down my shirt, 'kay?" she said teasingly. God, what she wouldn't give for a pinch on the ass or a leer down her shirt from him right now.

Max pulled the bedcovers from Alec's body, folding them down to the end of the bed. The first night she had come to spend with Alec, Widget had been in the process that Max had now taken over. The transhuman had explained that Alec's muscles had suffered a severe strain from the massive electroshock. He was fortunate that he was in a coma, because his body had basically become one big nerve ending, and he would have been in agony if he was awake to feel it. They hoped to ease the strain on his muscles before he regained consciousness.

Max had watched closely, both entranced and horrified at the sight of Alec's near naked body, connected to multiple tubes and lines, a folded towel the only thing protecting his modesty, only gauze and bandages protecting his horror of his injuries. The medical staff hadn't bothered with clothes or even a hospital gown for Alec since they would repeatedly have to take it off to change his bandages and massage his muscles. After Widget had finished one section of his body, she had asked quietly asked the transhuman if he could show her what to do so she could take over.

She grabbed a towel next to the bed and placed it over Alec's privates, then turned to the bowl of water and soft cloth that Widget had already set out for her on the tray beside the bed. She dipped the cloth into the lukewarm water, and then slowly, reverently, began to wash Alec's skin.

"You remember when you cut yourself last month when you were helping clear the blockage from the northwest tunnel? Would have thought that you cut your arm off, for all your bitchin' and moanin'." Max shook her head and smiled wryly at the memory. "It was just a scratch, really, didn't even need stitches, but you come in to the meeting next morning bandaged up and beggin' for sympathy. Never saw such a pathetic example of milking an injury in my life. You asked me to give you a sponge bath back then, remember? I told you 'in your dreams…."

Her voice caught in her throat and she stopped suddenly, unable to continue. She concentrated on her task for a moment, sliding the wet cloth down the left, undamaged side of Alec's chest. She cleared her throat before continuing.

"Well, I guess since your dreamin', I gotta hold up my end of the bargain, right?"

Max stared at him, heart suddenly heavy with longing. She leaned over Alec, her breasts lightly brushing against his left side, right hand sneaking in to caress his barcode, as she brought her lips to rest right over his ear.

"_Come on, Alec_," she purred into his ear. "You know you would enjoy this a whole lot more if you were awake."

Max straightened slowly, letting her hand trace a slow, seductive path down Alec's shoulder and chest. _Nothing_. She sighed at his unresponsive form. It had been worth a shot.

"Maybe I should take off my shirt…" she muttered, lips turned down in a frown.

"Should I come back at another time?"

Max turned her head at the soft-spoken inquiry to find Widget shifting from foot to foot in the doorway, nose once again twitching nervously. The overhead lights glinted softly off the short, light gray fur covering his head and arms. He held a bag of IV fluids in his hand.

Max shook her head, a slight blush creeping into her cheeks. "No, no. Come in. Sorry. Just…trying to get a response."

Widget chuckled. "I think you'd have better luck in that area than I would."

The transhuman walked over to the bed and began to change Alec's IV bag. The nutrients were not sustaining Alec, but they were helping slow his decline. Instead of his body crashing and burning, it was more like sputtering and coughing, slowly guttering out.

Max finished washing Alec's skin while Widget checked his IV lines and the readings on the various machine's monitoring his condition. She found herself stilling, her purpose forgotten, as her eyes were drawn to the bandages on Alec's right side. A small amount of blood and a clear fluid had begun to seep through again. Widget noticed the object of Max's gaze and froze, a look of concern on his face.

"I've got to change those. Do you want to…" He didn't even get a chance to finish, because Max vehemently nodded her head and blurred out the door.

As soon as she cleared the door, she stopped and threw her back against the wall beside it. She was breathing hard, and shut her eyes tight against the memory of the first time she had walked in when they were changing Alec's bandages, a day after the shooting. She had been frozen in place, desperately wanting to look away but unable. It had been like a grisly car accident that was terrible and yet you couldn't look away.

There had been a long, angry red wound that ran between two of his ribs, where they had been forced to spread them to get access to his damaged lung. It was sewn back together, but jagged in places from the bullet wound. A similar wound was under his collarbone, where they had removed the second bullet. Both wounds oozed blood, and she had flashed back to the moment where Widget had first torn open his shirt to reveal them. Now, she had spent the first twelve years of her life as a soldier, and was no stranger to wounds, but the fact that these wounds were Alec's, that she felt responsible for inflicting them on him, and that they might yet bring and end to his life, made it too much to bear. She had stumbled from the room, barely making it to the bathroom before she threw up the meager amount of food OC and Joshua had bullied her into eating at lunchtime. After that, she made herself scarce any time his bandages needed changing.

So she waited in the hall as Widget did his duty. She began counting by prime numbers in her head to keep her mind off what was going on in there. She had reached a zen level of focus, and was therefore startled when Widget's fur-covered hand touched her shoulder.

"I'm finished," he said in his usual library-quiet tone. As Max nodded and turned to go back in, he stopped her with a light hand on her arm.

"Vash says his body just needs to focus on healing itself right now. He just needs some more time. He'll wake up when he's ready." He gave her arm a little squeeze. "I'll leave you to him," he said, then walked off down the hall.

Max returned to Alec's side. The medic had dried off Alec's body, but hadn't recovered him. He knew that Max would continue what she started, completing the necessary massage therapy. She gave Alec a shrewd look, trying to figure out what was going on inside his head.

"So you'll wake up when you're ready, huh? I think you're just hiding out so I won't kick your ass for causing so much trouble." The false bravado made her feel a little better, enough that she could bring herself to touch him without crying.

Max began to massage his muscles, starting at his feet and working her way up. It was difficult work, as there were so many damaged areas on his body where she had to be careful. She took her time, concentrating on the task so she wouldn't get distracted by the feel of his soft skin under her hands. No matter how much she concentrated, it never failed that she would find herself at some point caressing his skin instead of massaging it, and she would have to start that section of his body all over again. She never spoke to him during these therapy sessions, though she often found herself quietly humming songs she knew he liked.

She spent close to an hour working on his abused body, as she had for the past three nights. When she was finished, she pulled the covers back up to his chest, lifting his arms over the material so his IV lines would not become tangled. She edged the chair a little closer to the bed and sat down, pulling the band from her hair to let it hang loose again. She reached forward and picked up Alec's left hand, holding it between both of hers.

"You know, I been meaning to talk to you… about what you said…" Max paused and swallowed hard, "…you know, that night."

Thinking about what had happened that night always threatened to break Max's control. She hung her head as she bit her bottom lip hard and blinked the tears out of her eyes. She refused to break down. If this was how it was going to be, then she had some things she needed to say. She sniffed and looked up at the ceiling. If she looked at him right now, she was sure that would send her right over the edge. Her voice wavered as she continued, and the tears glistened in her eyes, but they did not fall.

"I mean, you can't just tell me something like that and then go hide in a coma for three days! You can't just take the easy way out. We need to talk about this. We need to figure this bitch out." She rested her elbows on the bed and brought his hand up so she could rest her forehead against it.

"I've been tryin' so hard to do it all on my own, but there's so much there… it's so overwhelming. I need you to help me figure out this thing between us. I'm not really good when it comes to feelings and all, you know, with the whole Manticore suppress 'em/ignore 'em dealio. I know you're not great in that department either, but I thought together maybe we could…"

Max raised her head, lowering Alec's arm back to the bed but still keeping her grip on his hand. She finally looked at his face, and that was all it took. She lost the battle, and the tears she had been fighting all night began to fall. She wiped hastily at her eyes with one hand while trying to say what needed to be said.

"God, Alec, what I feel for you scares me. It's so wild and uncontrolled and dangerous. It's not safe, not at all. I think that's why I clung to the idea of Logan so hard. He was safe. He was comfortable. He was everything I thought a normal girl should ever want. But I'm not normal, and I realized a while back that I don't wanna be anymore. I thought I was using you to push Logan away, but I think I had really been using Logan all along to push you away. And I don't wanna push you away anymore."

She squeezed Alec's hand hard and leaned toward him, and she didn't care if she hurt him, because that would mean that he felt something and that he was going to wake up.

"You can't die, Alec. I won't let you," she said vehemently. "You're not allowed to die. Do you hear me? Are you listening? Fuckin' Max Law Number Twelve--_Alec is not allowed to die_."

* * *

Logan Cale had been biding his time, waiting to talk to Max. He had been hanging out in a spare office in TC Command for the past couple of days, hoping to let tensions die down a bit before he tried to talk to her. Everyone was pretty much ignoring him... unless he tried to talk to Max. Then suddenly someone needed Max's attention, or an urgent issue suddenly came up. They were shielding her from him, and he wasn't sure if it was her idea or if they did it on their own. He didn't leave the city, even with the danger from the toxins, because he was afraid that Max would bar him from returning. He could risk a couple more days.

He figured it was probably a bad idea, but he'd had nothing but bad ideas recently, so what was one more? He followed her to the Medical building, where he knew that he would probably be able to talk to her without any of the other transgenics interfering. He had waited at the end of the hall for almost an hour, hoping she would come out and he could convince her to talk to him. She didn't come out, however, and he suspected that maybe she planned to stay with Alec all night. He couldn't wait any longer. He had to make this right between them, and he couldn't put if off any more or he would go out of his mind.

Logan stepped into the room, stopping just inside the door. He saw Max, his beautiful Max, sitting next to Alec's bed, holding his hand and talking in a low and angered tone. He wasn't really sure how to get her attention, so he cleared his throat lightly.

As soon as Max heard him, her head whipped around and she locked eyes with him. He realized that he might have made a big mistake coming to see her here. There was fire and brimstone in her eyes; apparently tensions were as...tense...as ever. He glanced over at Alec's still form, and was overcome by a wave of guilt.

"How is he?" Logan asked quietly. It had seemed like an innocent question, and he truly hoped that Alec was okay, but he hadn't realized the firestorm this would set off inside of Max.

Max stood up so fast the chair skittered across the floor behind her. She stalked around the bed and headed toward him, a look of pure fury on her face. As she drew closer, came inside the "virus bubble" that had developed between them, he began to back away, a bit panicked. It turned into full-blown panic when Max blew right by him, her bare hand closing over his bare forearm and dragging him bodily out into the hall. Full-blown panic turned to extreme freak-out mode when Max let go of his arm and placed the flat of her hand on his chest and then slammed him back into the wall. He waited for the virus to take affect. He was pretty sure there would be no offerings of transgenic blood this time to counteract it.

"How _dare_ you come here? _How dare you_!"

At the panicked look in Logan's wide eyes, she couldn't help but lean in and get up in his face. "Don't worry, Logan. I took your goddamn cure. That way I won't kill you when I kick your fuckin' ass!" She punctuated the last word by giving him another slam into the wall.

Logan relaxed only slightly at the news that Max had taken the cure. The virus may no longer kill him, but the look in Max's eyes told him that he was definitely still very much in danger. He kept his arms at his side and tried not to make any sudden movements, to appear as non-threatening as possible. But he had to talk to her, had to make her understand why he'd done it. He tried to keep his voice calm, but it was kind of hard to do when she was scaring the hell out of him.

"Max, you're upset."

"Upset? _Upset?!_ You have no idea of how much of a fucking understatement that is for what I am right now." The palm that Max held flat against his chest curled into a fist around his shirt. "How could you _do_ that?! How could you _risk_ him like that?! And then you _lie_ to me about it! You knew where he was the whole time and you fucking _LIED TO ME!_"

Max shoved Logan back into the wall and took a step back. She held her arms stiffly at her sides, fingernails digging into her palm as her fists clenched. She needed to get control of herself, but she found it a difficult thing with Alec wasting away in the room behind her and the cause for it right there in front of her.

Logan had been in Terminal City since the night Alec was shot, but he never really found out the details of what had happened. No one had been willing to talk to him. So he really had no idea that what he was about to say was so very, very wrong. His voice was a bit defensive as he continued.

"It was supposed to be a simple job. A couple of security guards should have been no problem for him. How could I have known he couldn't handle it…"

Logan's words were cut off abruptly as Max's palm connected in a stinging slap across his face. The force of the blow whipped his head to the side, and his glasses came askew. Logan had made a serious error. He had forgotten that this was not the Max from a year ago that would have happily joined him in expounding on Alec's supposedly endless faults. This was a different Max altogether.

Logan turned his head back to her, stunned, hand coming to remove his crooked glasses and stick them into his pocket. He hadn't really believed that Max would actually hurt him, but now he wasn't so sure. She was so full of anger, he was certain that if Manticore had somehow come up with a way for X-5's to shoot laser beams from their eyes, his ass would have been toast.

"It was a fucking trap, Logan! It wasn't fucking rentacops, it was White! White set the whole thing up, then leaked the info to try to draw _me_ in."

"White?" Logan asked, confused.

"Yes, White. You sent Alec into a building full of Familiars, Logan. You sent him on a suicide mission. And then _YOU LIED ABOUT IT_!"

Logan barely saw Max's hand coming and had little time to brace himself before she slapped him again across the face. It was not like getting slapped by some pissed-off ex-girlfriend. It was hard and fast, worse than the last slap, and caused his head to whip to the side once more. He turned his head back slowly this time, his left hand coming up to cover his stinging cheek as he moved his jaw back and forth to see if it was still in working order.

"I didn't know, Max, I swear. The info looked legit."

Max crossed her arms and drew her head back, looking at him with pure disdain. The way she used to look at Alec.

"Yeah, and I'm sure you spent a _hell_ _of a lot of time_ verifying the info," Max replied sarcastically.

Logan couldn't hide the guilt at Max's words. She was right. When he had gotten the information on the cure, he had taken it at face value and run with it. He had been so excited at the prospect of finally finding it, that he had ignored all the normal precautions. He risked taking a step toward Max, arm reaching out in a pleading gesture. It was like stab in the chest when, as he took that step forward, she took a step back from him.

"Max, you've got to believe me. I would have _never_ asked him to do this if I didn't think it was on the up and up. It looked like a sure thing. By the time I knew something was wrong, my cell was dead and I couldn't get in touch, but I came right here, I swear."

Max's stance changed slightly, hip jutting slightly out, head tilting to the side, weight shifted to the balls of her feet. If Alec had been awake, it would have recognized it immediately and advised Logan to run for his life.

"What about when you called me earlier, huh? What, it just slipped your mind?" Her voice was terrifying in how calm it had suddenly become.

He had been afraid of this moment, of when he would be forced to explain that stupid, ill-timed call. How could he possibly explain what he had felt at the time? How could he admit that he had been so afraid of losing her, he had blurted out the lie? He couldn't tell her that, he just couldn't. He decided to try to cover the best he could, his voice stammering a bit as he began.

"I… I didn't want to raise a false alarm. He… He could've been running late, was most likely running late. I mean, you could never accuse him of being punctual. He could've stopped at a bar or something on the way back, hooked up with some girl…."

Logan realized his mistake. He'd spoken without thinking, and he had gone way too far. His words died in his mouth. When Max's eyes narrowed, he braced himself and waited for the vicious slap that was sure to come.

Max was practically vibrating with anger. When Logan suggested that Alec was out drinking and screwing when in actuality his lifeblood had been pouring out of him in a dank, cold sewer tunnel, something inside Max snapped. She dropped her arms and her right hand closed into a fist before it flew almost involuntarily at Logan's face. She realized a split second before the punch connected that if she hit him with that much force, she would send the cartilage of his nose into his brain and kill him. For the briefest of milliseconds, she thought this would have only been what he deserved, but her conscience immediately overruled this thought and she pulled the punch enough to keep from killing the great Eyes Only.

Logan's head snapped back as Max's fist connected with his nose with a loud crunch. The back of his head impacted with the wall behind him with a resounding crack. His blue eyes were dazed, and blood poured out of his now broken nose. His legs became water and he slid down the wall to the floor. He reached a shaky hand up to touch his face, then pulled it back to stare at the blood, at the moment unable to understand why he was bleeding.

Widget came out of the room down the hall at the sound of the commotion. One look at a bleeding Logan sitting on the floor and a furious Max hovering over him was enough to convince him that he really didn't want to be there right now. As Max's furious gaze turned to him, the instincts from his rat DNA screamed at him to _RUN, RUN, RUN _from the feline predator. He ignored it and stood stock still, knowing that cats love a good chase. He raised his hands and then backed away ever so slowly.

"I'll come back later," he whispered, then sidestepped through a door and out of the hall.

Max turned her attention back to Logan. She took a step closer to his collapsed form until she was towering over him. Her voice was still unnervingly calm.

"Hanging out at a bar hooking up with some girl, huh? Now, why would he do that when his girl was back here waiting for him?"

Logan looked up at her, still trying to get his eyes to focus completely, hand gingerly feeling his nose. When he spoke, his voice had a strange nasal quality from the injury.

"Come on Max, I know that's not true. You and Alec were never together. It was all just a ruse so you could protect me. I know that now."

Max crouched down in front of Logan and slammed the flat of her left palm into the wall next to his head, causing him to jump. She grabbed the front of his shirt with her right hand and pulled him toward her.

"You don't know _jackshit_! And you know why? Because you weren't here, Logan!"

"That's not my fault. The toxins…"

"_FUCK THE TOXINS, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE TOXINS_! You were out there! _Out there_, Logan! You could go get a beer when you wanted, talk a midnight stroll if you felt like it, buy a fucking tube of toothpaste without fear of being cut down by police or Familiars or a crazed mob! You don't understand, you could never understand, what it's like to be one of us, to be trapped."

Max sighed, and loosened her grip on him a bit so he settled back against the wall. Even though she wanted to hate him for what he had done, a small part of her still loved him. Not the way he wanted her to love him, not anymore. They had both come too far, moving in different directions. She understood that now, but she needed Logan to understand it as well. He was holding on to something that was long gone, and he had to let her go. When she continued speaking, her voice was softer and the anger had left her voice.

"Logan, you were so concerned with saving the world, with being the big hero, when all I wanted to do was to save my people. You just couldn't understand that." Max paused and looked down for a minute, remembering.

"Do you remember when I refused to go on your precious Eyes Only missions anymore? Because I do. I remember the look on your face, the disappointment, like I'd let you down. But you know what, Logan? You let _me_ down. When did you ever need me just for _me_, and not what I could do for you?"

At this, Logan brought a hand up and wrapped it around Max's wrist. "I _do_ need you , Max. I love you. That's why I asked Alec…" He stopped, knowing that he was entering dangerous waters again by mentioning his name.

Alec's name on Logan's lips brought Max's anger bubbling back up to the surface. Max shook off his hand and stood. Logan followed, awkwardly scrambling to his feet, swaying a bit when he finally was able to stand. Max grabbed his upper arms to both steady him and to bring her point home.

"You should have come to _me_."

Logan looked down at Max, his face overcome with sadness. "I didn't want to get your hopes up…"

Max rolled her eyes at this. "You've gotta be kidding me You almost got Alec killed so that you wouldn't hurt my _feelings_?! That is fucking priceless!"

She straightened her arms to increase the space between them, then let go. Her hands went to her hips, and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"I know you used me to blackmail him, Logan. I got the whole story from Dalton. You used me to him to get him to your place, and you used me to get him to do the job. You used me like you've always used me. I guess some things haven't changed."

"It was the cure, Max…" Logan pleaded, as if that explained everything.

"_IT'S NOT WORTH HIS LIFE, LOGAN!"_

Max and Logan stood across from each other, eyes locked, the only noise the sound of their breathing. There was nothing left to say. Logan tried desperately to think of something that would make Max understand, but he kept coming up with a blank. For Max, everything had already been said. She had finally figured out what she wanted, and it wasn't Logan. If Logan wasn't convinced, nothing else she could say would make a difference.

She began to back away, moving backwards toward the room where Alec silently waited.

"You need to leave, Logan."

"Max..." Logan begged, the word silently transforming into _please, don't_.

Max closed her eyes, trying to block out the pain in Logan's voice. She hated to see him hurting like this, but she had no time for his pain right now. There was someone else who needed her now, who _she _needed. She was sorry things had to go down the way they did with Logan, but it had been coming on for a long time.

"Please...leave. Before I do or say something I will regret."

Max backed through the door, grabbing the handle and slowly pulling it closed. As it latched with a click, she sagged against the door, letting out a single sob. She felt like she had just closed the door on a part of her life. It was a door that needed to be closed, but the act was still painful.

She made her way back to Alec's side. She reached over and picked up Alec's now dry sweatshirt from the chair and pulled it back on. She stood by his bed, enveloped in the soft shirt.

"Why is it that no matter what I do, someone always gets hurt?" she asked him quietly.

Max was suddenly, overwhelmingly tired. Her body just wanted to shut down. She knew that her mind wouldn't let her sleep, hadn't let her sleep for the past four nights, but her body wanted to rest. Ever so carefully, so she wouldn't risk hurting him, Max eased herself on to the bed beside Alec. She carefully lifted his bruised and abraded left arm, then slowly lowered herself to rest her head on his undamaged left shoulder. She eased his arm down to wrap around her back.

"Please, Alec," she whispered as she raised her head to look up at his face, trailing the back of her fingers lightly over his cheek, "come back to me."

Max closed her eyes and lowered her head back down to his shoulder. She could hear the beat of his heart, slow and steady. It should have been reassuring, but Max couldn't help but concentrate on every beat, so scared that it might change, that it might slow even further and come to a stop. So she just lay with her head on his chest, eyes wide and unfocused, listening through the long hours of the night.

* * *

A/N: Okay…how many people did I give a heart attack with the opening segment, huh? Sorry! Hmmm…check that. I'm _not_ sorry, just attempting to reach a whole new level of _WICKED_. _Heh, heh, heh_... I also expect you guys might be a little ticked that I've made you wait--_again_--to find out what happens to Alec. I've got full riot gear on, so bring it!

For those of you lamenting Alec's absence from the last chapter, and will probably be lamenting again about this chapter, all I can say is, hey, he's in this chapter, right? Even if he was a bit quiet...okay, a lot quiet. Give the guy a break, huh? With what I put him through in FUBAR, he obviously deserves a rest. For those of you hoping for a full-blown fight between Max and Zev, sorry to disappoint. I didn't want it to overshadow the showdown between Max and Logan.

Also, props to StealerOfDreams for guessing Max would come up with Max Law Number 12 two chapters ago. I already had it in my plot outline for the story, but hadn't figured out what the actual wording of the law would be yet, then decided just to go with her idea. Thank you, StealerOfDreams, and bravo on your precognitive skills!

Next chapter: Endings and Beginnings. Sounds ominous, doesn't it?


	11. Ch 10: Rude Awakening

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN DARK ANGEL! I AM NOT MAKING ANY MONEY FROM THIS STORY!!!! I AM JUST HAVING FUN, PEOPLE! Anyone getting the idea that I am tired of these disclaimers?

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

A/N: First, let's get this out of the way. **_I AM A BIG, FAT LIAR. _**This is not "Endings and Beginnings" as previously promised. I started to write that chapter, and found I was leaving too much out--stuff that I knew you guys would take me to task on. Then I tried putting it into flashbacks, and that was _so _not working, so either I was going to have to the longest chapter of all time, or I was going to have to add another one. I just decided to make it an additional chapter. My minor reworking of the plot outline, combined with my sister visiting from out of state and a minor bout with a migraine, is why this is being posted later than my usual standards. I know… excuses, excuses! Sorry to keep you hanging! It's super long to make up for it, okay?

Next, I'd like to say WOW (mouth hanging open in shock). The last chapter put me over 230 reviews. For my first fic ever. And I really mean ever. There are no other un-posted fanfiction stories moldering in a box somewhere or gathering dust in some corner of my hard drive. First ever. I thought I was just gonna post this story, exorcise it from my brain, and be done with it all. Since I've found that I have become deeply addicted to reviews, and additional story ideas keep popping into my head that will require exorcism, I guess I _might _continue on. All I can say to everyone who has reviewed my story is that I really, _really _love you guys. (Inzane sniffs and wipes a tear from her eye.)

I do not own the song "Since You've Been Gone" by (_no, not Kelly Clarkson…sheesh!)_ Theory of a Deadman (one of my favorite bands, by the way). Liberties with the medical stuff. Oh, and with Alec's hair because... well, just because.

Warning: Bad language is a given. Some serious introspection. Also, a high probability that the reader will become pissed off. I'm not giving anything away by telling you this. I think I already did that with the chapter title.

* * *

Chapter 10: Rude Awakening

Something was beeping. A rhythmic beep...beep...beep...beep... It was monotonous. It droned on and on and on. It confused him a bit. He knew he should understand the significance of it, but he couldn't. It was like the wheels of his mind had stopped turning, and he didn't have enough energy to get them running again.

Everything was dark. Part of him realized it was because his eyes were closed, but it seemed like too much effort to try to open them. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't remember what it was. He couldn't focus. It was all so... fuzzy. He decided to quit trying and just sink back down into oblivion.

He wished someone would stop that fucking beeping, though. It was really starting to annoy him.

* * *

He surfaced several times from the deep oblivion where he had been hiding, each time unable to move or even open his eyes. He heard different voices each time, but he had a hard time understanding what they were saying. He thought he heard Joshua, Dalton, and the Doc. There were times when he could have sworn he heard Max, thought that he felt her touch, but that couldn't be right, could it? His head was hurting trying to think about it. Everything was so messed up. His whole body felt heavy, as if there was some enormous lead blanket over him. He tried to move, to open his eyes, but even his eyelids felt weighted down. The effort wore him out, and he once again descended into oblivion.

* * *

Although he was not aware of the passing of time, it had been five days since Alec had been shot. Five days since his heart had temporarily stopped beating. Five days that he had languished in a coma, slowly wasting away.

It was midmorning. The light from the clear day filtered hazily through the windows, casting the strange shadows of medical equipment across the floor. Dalton sat leaning back in a chair next to Alec's bed, a sheaf of reports resting on his chest, feet propped on the bedside table, the chair balancing on two legs. He was fast asleep, and had been since he had nodded off about an hour ago while reading some status reports to Alec, the warmth of the sun through the windows lulling him to sleep. So he didn't see it when Alec's eyes began to flutter.

The X-5 felt like he was swimming up from the depths, but through some liquid much thicker and heavier than water. His eyes fluttered as he tried to surface. He refused to sink back down into the darkness this time. He would fight it. All of the sudden, it felt as if his consciousness crashed back into his body from some great height. His eyes shot wide open and his pupils contracted to pinpoints.

**_Pain_**.

It crashed through him in waves, pulsing with the beat of his heart. It began to beat faster, causing that familiar beep beep beep to increase in tempo, and the pain increase with it. His whole body screamed at him. It felt like his every muscle was strung taught and could not release. The entire right side of his chest was nothing but pulsing, white-hot agony. The weight of the covers over his body was too much, the electrodes he could now feel attached to his skin ike little discs of a thousand needles, pricking into his skin. There was nothing but mind-numbing pain.

Alec tried to take in a deep breath to help him focus on blocking the pain, but there was nowhere for it to go. It felt like an anvil was sitting on his chest. He began to take small, quick breaths. He was crawling back from the depths, and at first, his panicked mind didn't understand what had happened, why he was like this. When his mind reluctantly joined his body on the surface, memories flashed before his eyes, overloading his battered senses:

_Logan's face when he told him about the cure/kissing Max before he left TC/crawling through the airducts/Dalton's panicked voice calling out "Trap!"/the Familiars clawing at their own skin as they died/White pointing his gun at Dalton/the pain of the first bullet/stalking after White/the flash of his knife slashing through the air/the burning fire of the bullet from point blank range/ White/blood/tunnels/Max/pain/White/blood/Max/ pain/pain/PAIN!_

Alec's panic entered overdrive, causing his body to instinctually enter flight mode, and he couldn't stop himself from trying to move from the bed. He had only managed a slight movement when he felt every muscle in his body scream in protest, and he couldn't help but cry out at the pain.

_CRASH!_

Dalton jerked awake at the sound of Alec's cry, and the chair he had been so precariously balanced on while sleeping crashed to the floor, taking him with it. As he slammed into the ground, a wave of pain hit him from his still healing ribs, causing him to groan.

"Shit," he muttered through clenched teeth, as his hands went involuntarily to the pain now radiating through his side. He thought he had heard someone cry out, but he figured he was having nightmares again until he heard the cry a second time, this time weaker. It was coming from the bed above him.

Dalton scrambled awkwardly to his feet, face full of hope as he stood to look down at Alec. His mouth dropped open as he saw Alec's eyes, his startling green-gold eyes, staring at him through a haze of pain.

"_You're awake_," Dalton whispered reverently. He thought he might have to revise his standing on God, because he was pretty sure he had just been witness to a miracle. His awe lasted only a moment when he saw Alec's jaw clench, stifling another pained cry, and his eyes rolled up into his head. Dalton false started twice before running from the room.

"_DOC!!"_

Vash burst into the hall at Dalton's yell. "_What is it?_" she asked quickly, concerned the worst may have come to pass.

Dalton frantically waved an arm back in the direction of the Critical Care ward. "He's awake. In pain!"

Vash whipped her head back towards her transhuman medic, who was in the doorway to her office. "Widget!" she called out, already starting down the hall, knowing he would understand the situation and get what they needed.

Vash barreled into the room and immediately went to the bank of various machines monitoring Alec's condition. Dalton followed, taking position on the other side of the bed. She noted Alec's heart rate and blood pressure were sky high for a transgenic. She turned to him, and found his eyes shut tight, several tears gathering at the corners, and his teeth were clenched so hard she could hear them grinding.

While Alec had been in a coma, Vash had not administered anything to address his pain. She had been afraid to give him anything while he was in a coma, fearing that it would slow his healing process. She was also dealing with a limited supply of drugs, at least until Mole came through with the next heist, and she knew he would have a greater need for them when he woke up…_if_ he woke up. She had been beginning to doubt he would wake up. She was overcome with relief that she hadn't let everyone down--all the transgenics out there pulling for their beloved SIC. The feeling bothered her; she wasn't used to dealing with emotions—Manticore had made sure of that. She pulled on her usual gruff façade to hide her discomfort.

"Well. It's about time you joined us," she groused. "Widget! Get your furry ass in here!"

Widget scrambled into the room, carrying a tray full of various syringes. His nose was twitching excitedly. He'd always believed that Alec would wake up. He never doubted it for a moment, because after all, it was Alec. He picked up a syringe from the table, depressed the plunger a bit to remove any air bubbles, then inserted it into Alec's IV port to administer the painkiller.

Vash leaned over Alec and put her hands on each side of his face, turning it slightly so he was facing her.

"Alec. I need you to look at me. I need you to open your eyes and look at me." When he finally opened his eyes, they were so full of pain and fear that Vash had to force herself to focus on the task at hand. She spoke in a slow and even tone that allowed no room for refusal.

"I need you to calm down, Alec. You're breathing too fast. Your lung had collapsed. We were able to repair the damage, but it's still healing. It's going to be a while before you recover full lung capacity. I need to listen to my voice and concentrate. Take small, shallow breaths. Come on…slow and steady… Slow and steady… That's it."

Alec slowed his breathing, and some of the horrifying pain in his chest began to ease. As Vash released him, he turned his head to the other side to see Dalton. A wave of relief--mental if not physical--flowed through him. He hadn't been sure how badly Dalton had been injured. The kid was standing, so that had to mean something. He latched on to Dalton's wrist, intending to get his attention, but another wave of pain flared through him and he squeezed involuntarily, causing the X-6 to cringe under the strength of his grasp. When the wave of pain had passed, he eased his grip and tried to talk. It took him several tries before he was able to get any words out. He gave a slight tug on Dalton's wrist, hoping the kid would understand his meaning.

"...o...kay?" The one word left him breathless.

Dalton blinked a couple of times, touched by the sentiment. He began to answer, but his voice cracked a bit and he had to clear his throat before continuing.

"Yeah, just a couple of cracked ribs, some cuts and bruises, no big. I won't be showing you up in the injury department anytime soon."

Another wave of pain surged through Alec, but it was duller than before. The drugs were taking affect. He was sinking down into a blissful, pain-free haze. He fought it, trying to get out one more question.

"...where... Mmmaaa..." His voice trailed off as the drugs dragged him down into darkness.

Dalton watched as Alec fell into a drugged slumber, then started as his brain figured out the words Alec had tried to mutter.

"Shit. Max!"

On that note, Dalton blurred from the building, in search of their leader.

* * *

Max leaned back in her chair, unaware that she was impatiently drumming her fingers on the table as Luke reported on the improvements they wanted to make in Communications. She had to concentrate hard to pay attention. She had more people relying on her than just Alec, and he would have been the first person to remind her of that.

The doors to the meeting room suddenly flew open, slamming into the walls. Dalton stood in the doorway breathing hard, eyes wide.

Max stood suddenly, sending her chair crashing to the floor. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her blood had run cold. Everyone's eyes turned to her, but she didn't notice._ He was gone, oh God, he was gone. _She gripped the edge of the table to brace herself, waiting for those horrible words from Dalton.

"He's awake."

She heard Dalton's breathless words, but it took a moment for them to sink in. She had been so scared that he had come to tell them the worst, that what he'd said didn't compute. When she finally understood, she found her knees buckling and she had to grab the table tighter to keep herself from falling. Her head hung down, dark locks cascading on either side of her face, hiding her expression.

"Meeting adjourned," she said quietly, her voice quavering slightly. They had to go, they had to leave, because she was going to break down at any moment.

No one moved. They were all confused by her reaction. This was good news, yet Max seemed like she was barely holding it together. Only Joshua, and strangely, Mole, had an idea of what was really going on in her head.

Max slammed her hand down on the table, putting a dent in its surface.

"_MEETING ADJOURNED!" _

She could hear them filing out of the room, talking excitedly in low tones about Alec's recovery, or making comments about her own reaction. She didn't care what they thought. She slowly bent over and lowered her head to the table, on the verge of breaking.

When Joshua's large hand came to rest on her shoulder as he quietly murmured _Little Fella_, it was more than she could take. She shook him off and fled from the room, blowing by a startled and confused Dalton.

Joshua walked to the doorway to stand next to the boy. They both watched as Max crossed the room and flew into her office, slamming the door behind her. Dalton looked at Joshua with a questioning look, hoping the transhuman could explain her behavior. He'd seen Max with Alec while he was in the coma. He knew how she felt about him. He couldn't understand why she was acting like this now.

Joshua kept his eyes on the closed door to Max's office. "Max thought were going to say Alec dead."

Dalton drew his eyebrows down and scrunched his forehead, more confused than ever. The mysteries of the female heart were definitely beyond his tender years.

"But he isn't. He's awake. He was asking about her." He paused, looking up at Max's closed door. "I thought she'd be happy."

Joshua smiled sadly, placing a hand on the adolescent's shoulder. "Will be happy. But for just one moment, Max thought Alec dead. Need time to deal."

* * *

Max leaned heavily against the closed door to her office. It was the only thing holding her up. She could feel her blood pulse through her with every beat of her heart.

_He was awake. **Alive**_.

Max pushed herself away from the door and slowly made her way to her battered leather couch, which was patched with silver duct tape in several spots. She couldn't count the number of times she'd come into her office and found Alec sneaking a nap on that very couch. He'd always bitched about why she'd gotten the better couch, that the couch in his office was way too short for him to sleep comfortably--even though _he_ had been the one to find the couch and put it in _her_ office. She stood next to it for a moment, struck by a memory of his sleeping form on her couch.

She closed her eyes, and slowly sank down onto the battered piece of furniture, folding her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. She found herself shaking slightly as she began to hyperventilate, trying to hold back the flood of emotion that threatened to overtake her. But she couldn't hold it back. She had been fighting it, _fighting it_, since the first night she had broken down, the night he'd been shot. All of the guilt, the fear, _everything_ trembled on the edge of a precipice, threatening to spill over. When the first sob finally broke through, it opened the floodgates. She lowered her head onto her knees and cried. She cried harder than the night she had broken down, harder than she had ever cried in her life. She found it difficult to draw breath around the sobs that were wracking her body. She cried until she felt like she was turning inside out.

She cried for Alec. Because he was alive. And because he could have died.

* * *

Max stood motionless in the shadows on the opposite side of the room. For the longest time, she didn't even breathe. She had waited until darkest night when most of Terminal City was fast asleep before she had been able to muster up the courage to come here. She also wanted to make sure that she could see him without anyone else around. And in all honesty, she was hoping that Alec would be asleep, because she wasn't really sure if she could face him right now.

The lights in the room had been turned off, to allow him to sleep better. She watched his chest rise and fall only slightly as he slumbered. She had needed to see him with her own eyes, to verify that he was still breathing, that he hadn't left her.

A soft glow came from the hall, shining dimly through the door to fall across Alec's bed. It highlighted the planes and angles of his face and arms. She stared, wondering how in the year and a half that she had known him, she had never allowed herself to see just how stunningly handsome he was.

She eventually found herself drawn to his bedside. She tried to resist, suddenly afraid for reasons she didn't quite understand, but her feet lead her to his side nonetheless. As she looked down at him, her breath caught in her throat.

It was different from every other night she had come here. Every other night he was a still as a statue, and seemingly as lifeless. Now there were small, involuntary motions that animated his face, and Max ached to see them. She could see his eyes twitching slightly under the closed lids, as he lay deep in REM sleep. His lips parted occasionally as he drew in breath. Despite the scar and fading bruise marring his cheekbone, his face was almost too perfect.

Alec's breath hitched suddenly as he tried to draw in too much air into his damaged lung. His body responded by shifting slightly, and he winced, face scrunched in pain. But he didn't wake. The evidence of Alec's pain brought Max's guilt flaring to life, threatening to crush her under its weight.

_**I** did this to him. It's **my** fault. _White had set the trap, trying to lure them in with the cure, because he had wanted to capture _her_. Logan had convinced Alec to take on the doomed mission because he had wanted to be with _her_. Alec had done everything that he'd done--had almost died--because of _her_…_because he loved her_.

_He did this for me, because he thought it was what I wanted. He's everything noble and loyal and heroic, and it takes something like this to finally force me to acknowledge it. I was too stupid, too afraid to recognize what I really wanted, and it almost killed him._

_What kind of person am I, to be the cause of so much pain? _

He would forgive her, she knew, because he had always forgiven her. No matter the slight, no matter how much she hurt him, he had always just accepted it and forgiven her, without expecting so much as an apology. Of course he would forgive her, would tell her that there was nothing to forgive… but could she ever forgive herself? Renfro's words from long ago echoed over and over in her mind.

_Don't you see, 452? You're poison. You destroy everyone that you love._

She reached out her hand, and it shook slightly as she ran her fingers through Alec's hair, then brought her hand around to lightly touch his face, careful not to wake him.

_You destroy everyone that you love._

A single tear rolled down her cheek. She let her hand fall and began to back away from the bed in slow, measured steps, never taking her eyes off him.

_Poison._

"_I don't deserve you, Alec_," she whispered as she disappeared quietly into the dark.

* * *

Thanks to some excellent painkillers, Alec slept through most of the first and second day since he had woken from the coma, surfacing only for a couple minutes at a time each day. The only part he really remembered from the second day was when Vash efficiently but painfully removed his catheter and then helped him into some scrub pants. He was pretty sure he managed to get out the words "fucking bitch from hell" that day.

On the third day, he hadn't even realized he was awake until he found he had been staring for an unknown length of time at the various stains and imperfections on the ceiling above him. They were _way _more fascinating than they should have been. _Hmmm...kinda fuzzy. Apparently I'm still flying. Damn good drugs_.

At the sound of someone entering the room, Alec rolled his head bonelessly to the side. The doctor walked into the room, holding a clipboard and going over the reports that charted Alec's readings throughout the night. She stopped next to the bank of monitors, noting their readings and making a few notations on the chart. When she was finished, she set the clipboard on the table and finally looked at her patient.

"Oh, look. He decides to grace us with his presence. 'Bout time you woke your lazy ass up."

Alec gave her a toned-down version of his infamous smirk, which was about all he could manage at the moment. His words came out slow, and he had to stop to catch his breath more than once.

"Funny. You don't... look like Max, but I swear her... voice just came out your mouth."

"Hah. Hah. Very funny. Let's see how funny you find it when I prop up your bed here." She hit a button on the bed, and the top half began to rise. He gritted his teeth at the forced change in position. Those drugs must not have been as good as he thought.

As if reading his thoughts, Vash commented, "I've been gradually cutting back your painkillers. Thanks to your five-day coma stint, and the transgenic healing capabilities, you've already passed through the worst of the healing process. You still have a long way to go, but I think you'll be able to get by with minimal painkillers."

"The hell you say," Alec ground out through clenched teeth as the bed continued to rise. When it stopped, he let out a sigh of relief. Now that he wasn't preoccupied with pain, his mind caught up with what Vash had said.

"Wait. Wait. Five days? I was in a coma? For five days?!" Saying that many words at a time left him a breathless, causing him to pant heavily.

"Yes, five days. And you pretty much slept through the past two, so you've been down and out for about a week."

"A week..." Alec muttered, eyes focusing inward. He had been out for a week. "Where's Max?"

Vash picked up her clipboard again. "Don't know," she answered offhandedly. "Hasn't been around the past two days." Vash began to do a rundown for Alec of his injuries, so she didn't really notice the affect what she'd said had on him.

_Two days. She hasn't been around in two days. Since I woke up. _He vaguely heard Vash listing his injuries in the background, but hell, he'd been there for them, so he wasn't really that interested in going over them again. _She doesn't want to see me. _His mind kept running through various reasons why she hadn't come to see him, but it always kept coming back to Logan Cale. He began to run through a litany of curses in his head until something Vash said caught his attention... something about a his cheekbone.

Alec looked up, a little pissed off at the knowing smile on Vash's face.

"_Are you tellin' me that sonofabitch broke my **face**_?!" His exclamation left him gasping once again. He was really going to have to remember to stay calm.

Vash's smile turned into a smirk, and she wordlessly held a small mirror in front of his face. He found a light scar running across his left cheekbone. It was surrounded by a fading bruise that must have been horrendous a couple of days ago. He winced, reaching up with his left hand to gingerly touch the wound. When Vash moved the mirror back a bit, what he saw had his eyes widening in shocked confusion.

"And what the hell happened to my _hair_?!" His voice was a little higher pitched than usual, and he ended up panting as he forgot the whole "stay calm" thing again. He reached up to pat the top of his hair, which was sticking up in crazed directions. It refused to lay down.

"Side effect," the doctor announced matter-of-factly, still smirking. "Had to use a bit more energy than usual to get you jump started. Should go away after you wash it a couple of times."

Alec ground his teeth and a growl issued from the back of his throat. "Next time I see White..." he paused a second to catch his breath. "...he's a fucking dead man."

There was a deep chuckle from the doorway at Alec's words. He turned and found Mole leaning casually against the doorframe, his habitual but unlit cigar bobbing slightly. He sauntered into the room, automatically shrugging to adjust his shotgun, which he wore like other people might wear a watch.

"Kid said you'd be pissed about the face."

Alec harrumphed. _Damn Dalton. Knows me too well_.

Mole grabbed his cigar out of his mouth and, as was his habit, began to gesticulate with it.

"Just happened to be on my way to the armory. Thought I'd drop in for a moment, you know, to see if you managed to sneak in any hot nurses." At this, Mole took a sidelong look at Vash. "Looks like that didn't really pan out for ya. You really _must _be out of it."

Alec snorted, then winced in pain, left hand lightly covering the bandaged right side of his chest.

Vash slammed her clipboard down and rolled her eyes. "I don't need to be here for the testosterone fest. Alec, if you want to get your ass out of here anytime soon, you will do what I say when I say it, and you will not argue."

Seeing that Mole was about to open his mouth to comment, she poked a finger in his chest to cut him off.

"And _you_, you make one more comment and I will see to it that shotgun of yours will need to be surgically removed from your ass. Good luck on finding a doctor to do it." With that, Vash pushed past Mole and stormed out of the room.

Mole watched her leave, scratching his head as he contemplated her retreating form.

"Damn. If that woman had scales, I think I'd be in love."

This time Alec barked out a laugh, which turned into a fit of coughs, causing him to double over in pain.

"Dammit! Will you... fuckin'... quit that!" he wheezed.

Mole turned back to his friend, putting his cigar back in his mouth and fixing Alec with an assessing look. He definitely looked better than the last time he saw him, not that he'd tell Alec that. He then tossed a small object onto the bed.

"Brought you something. It's an mp3 player. Had one of the X-6's load it up with stuff, so don't blame me if it's full of shit. I know it's not your boob tube, but those things are fuckin' heavy, man."

Alec reached forward and slowly picked up the device, turning it over in his hands. He was touched, especially considering the gesture came from Mole. The two were silent for a moment, both a bit uncomfortable. It would have been different if it had come from Joshua or Dalton or anyone else. But Mole and Alec had this strange friendship where they knew they had each others' backs but pretended to hate each others' guts, and they liked it that way. Recent events had made it hard to hold to that, and it was definitely making them both uneasy.

Mole cleared his throat to break the tension. "Gotta get back to the armory. I got some new recruits I need to train. You'd better get back on your feet soon, 'cause I'm tired of doing your fuckin' job."

Mole gave Alec a small nod, then turned to leave. Watching his retreating back, Alec was suddenly torn. As Mole reached the threshold, he found himself calling out the transhuman's name.

"Mole."

The lizard man turned, a questioning look on his face as he continued to chew on his cigar.

Alec desperately wanted to ask about Max, needed to know where she was, why she hadn't come to see him since he'd woken up. But at the same time, he was terrified of the answer, of having someone else confirm his worst fear--that Max was with Logan. _After all, she had the cure_.

She didn't need him anymore. No more pretend boyfriend, no more possibilities of making it more than just pretend. And what he had said--had _done_--before he left... well, there was nothing to stop her from running into Logan's arms.

As he stared at Mole, he decided that he wasn't ready to hear it. Not yet.

"Nothin'. Never mind." He hung his head, suddenly fascinated with examining the plethora of bandages on his chest.

Mole squinted for a moment at his friend. He knew that Alec wanted to ask something, figured it was something about Max, but he didn't push. Asking anything more would cross the boundaries of the friendship that they had set over the past six months, and he had done enough of that for one day. He gave Alec a small nod, and then left Terminal City's Second in Command to his own thoughts.

* * *

Alec stared at the stained ceiling for a while after Mole had left, lost in his own thoughts--well, one thought really, because his mind was single-mindedly focused on the one person he wasn't sure he would be able to live without.

_Max_.

She must hate him. He had hoped that getting the cure would help Max forgive him for what he had said, for that kiss, but he guessed that wasn't the case. Apparently, she couldn't even bring herself to look at him.

What had happened after he'd been shot was very fuzzy, but he remembered trying to apologize to Max. He was sorry for what he had said, but he wasn't sorry for the kiss, could never be sorry. He thought she had forgiven him, but he'd definitely not been in a state to judge anything at the time. He could have imagined the whole thing, for all he knew.

_Especially that last part, when I told her... God, I hope I imagined that part._

His mind replayed the kiss, and it was as if he was reliving it. He could almost taste her on his lips, feel the softness of her skin, smell the intoxicating scent of her. But his mind was cruel, and it stepped back and suddenly he was an observer, and it wasn't him that Max was kissing. It was Logan. He shook his head to clear the horrible vision, and grimaced as his muscles protested the sudden movement.

_She could be in Logan's arms, right now. _

Suddenly, Alec's face felt as it were a blazing fire as he remembered with crystalline clarity the last thing he had said to Max. He hadn't imagined it. He'd told her that he loved her, had exposed his soul to her with what he thought was his final breath. He hadn't thought he'd be around to deal with the consequences of that confession.

She probably felt sorry for him. Poor, pathetic Alec, hung up on a woman he could never have. He'd been such a fucking idiot, not to realize how he felt about her sooner. He wanted her so badly, but now it was too late, she was out of reach forever. She could finally be with the man she loved. And he had handed her the means to do it. _Talk about a fucking idiot. _

_Figures. What have I ever done in my life to deserve someone like her?_

His life had been on the downward spiral, and apparently, he was still circling the drain. He was just what Max used to always accuse him of being--a screw up that couldn't do anything right. He had no right to want someone like her, and he felt like a complete ass for even daring to hope that things might have gone his way for once. He should have known.

He slowly reached for the mp3 and put the ear buds in, hoping to drown out his own thoughts. He hit the play button, then leaned back against his pillow to stare at the ceiling again. He let out a slow breath, and the song began to play...

_It seems that nothing ever goes my way_

_Since you broke my heart when you left that day_

_There's nowhere to go so just stay with me_

_Cuz since you've been gone, I've been beggin' you please…_

Alec closed eyes in pain, but it wasn't physical this time. The song hit a little too close to home.

_...To tell me you're not alright_

_And you needed to come home_

_Since you've been gone_

_To tell me you're not okay_

_And you needed me all along_

_Since you've been gone_

"_Since You've Been Gone" Theory of a Deadman_

Alec hit the stop button, then pulled the cord, yanking the ear buds from his ears. If he ever found out which X-6 loaded this thing, once he was back on his feet he was definitely gonna kick the kid's ass.

* * *

It was early morning of the fourth day since Alec had come out of his coma. Max was in the basement of one of housing barracks for the X-7's and X-8's, covered in grime and soaked to the bone. There had been a major water leak from where they had illegally patched the building into Seattle's water system, and she was currently supervising what could loosely be called repairs. Since they seemed to be doing nothing but making the problem worse, "repairs" was definitely a loose term. Water was now spraying profusely from the jammed water valve.

She really didn't need to be there personally to oversee the problem, but ever since Alec had woken up, she had buried herself in the most demanding or out of the way jobs she could find. Anything to keep her from Alec, to keep her from thinking of him, to keep people from asking her about him. She had buried herself in work, but try as she might, she couldn't get the image out of her mind of Alec telling her he loved her as he choked on his own blood.

She was about to tell the head of the repair crew to let her have a go with the wrench when she felt herself being suddenly drug backwards. She spun in fury to find Joshua's soulful eyes looking down at her. He anger was instantly replaced with apprehension. She was pretty sure why Joshua was here, and her friend didn't waste time in getting to the point.

"Why you not go see Alec?"

Max was surprised a bit at the mild anger she saw in Joshua's eyes. Sometimes she forgot that Joshua was as attached to Alec as he was to her.

"I got big problems here, Josh, can't you see..." Max began, but Joshua grabbed her arms and gave her a little shake, cutting her off and causing her to widen her eyes in shock.

"No." He wasn't going to allow Max to blow him off. He began to drag her by arm away from the group. Max had other ideas.

"Hey!" Max said angrily, trying to dig her heels in and failing miserably.

Joshua turned to the repair crew, who were all openly staring at them now. They needed a bit more privacy for what he had to say to Max. He wouldn't want to undermine her authority. He shouted at them to handle it on their own before dragging Max off to another room in the basement. He backed her against a wall, then stepped back and stood between her and the exit, crossing his arms to let her know he meant business.

"Little Fella not put Joshua off any longer. Why not go see Alec? Tell Joshua now."

Max quickly lowered her gaze, unable to look Joshua in the eye. She didn't answer.

"_Why_?" Joshua asked, insistent. He was not going to let this go. When Max finally looked into his eyes, and his heart ached at the anguish in her gaze.

"_I can't_," she pleaded, begging him to understand, her whole frame sagging from the weight of her confession.

At Joshua's confused look, Max began pacing back and forth, bringing a hand up to chew nervously on her thumbnail. How could she possibly explain this to him in any way that would make sense?

"It would have been different," she began nervously, "if I was there, you know? When he woke up. But I wasn't, just like I wasn't there that night. I should have been there to save him, Joshua."

"Little Fella didn't know..."

"That's never stopped me before! I should have known! I _should _have. I knew something was up with him, and I just let him blow me off, I let my own hurt feelings get in the way, my own fucking pride. And he almost died because of it. Because of _me_! It's _my fault _he almost died! I'm a danger to him, Joshua!"

Max threw her back against the wall and sagged down it, until she was sitting with her knees under her chin. Joshua crouched down beside her, and the look she gave him was so full of hurt that he wanted to just somehow be able to fix it, to make everything all right again.

"How can I face him? He should hate me, and I know he won't, he will forgive me like he always has. But I'm not worthy of it, Joshua. I'm not worthy."

At this, she let her head sink down until her forehead rested on her knees. She looked, for all the world, defeated. This was something that Joshua couldn't allow.

"So, Little Fella avoid Alec forever, now? Go with Logan?"

As he expected, his comment had Max's head shooting up, anger flashing in her dark eyes.

"No!" she said forcefully. She took a breath, then continued on in a softer tone. "No. God, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I've messed this whole thing up so badly, I don't know how to fix it. I need to fix it, _have_ to fix it. But, I mean, how can I even explain why I didn't come see him, when every passing moment just makes it worse? Everything has gotten so outta control. I'm so afraid I'm gonna just hurt him again."

Joshua was silent a moment, letting Max digest her own words. It was time for her to face the truth. He reached out a placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Max want Alec?"

He did not say "love." Knowing Max, he knew not to say it. She wasn't ready to hear it, to speak the word... not yet.

At first, Joshua thought she wasn't going to answer. When she finally spoke, her next word came out in a breathy rush, as she ducked her head and buried her hands in soggy and tangled hair.

"_Yes_."

Smiling softly, Joshua gave her shoulder a little squeeze. "Then tell Alec. Work rest out later."

He stood, confident that Max had gotten the message. He only hoped she would listen. He turned and silently left the room.

Max stared unseeing through the empty door, thoughts focused within. Her final comment was whispered quietly to an audience of no one.

"If only it were that easy."

* * *

Alec was getting antsy. It was late afternoon on the fourth day he'd been stuck in bed--ninth if you counted the time he'd been out of it. His mind was raring to go, even if his body was not. With nothing else to occupy him, his thoughts were in overdrive, and the only topic they kept steering towards was a certain dark-haired X-5.

He thought about her constantly. He wondered what she was doing, why she hadn't come to see him, if she hadn't forgiven him, if she was with Logan… The uncertainty was driving him nuts. He couldn't take not knowing how she felt--about him, about _everything_. He desperately wanted to do something about it, but what could he do while he was laid up and could barely get out a sentence without loosing his breath? His frustration was starting to annoy Vash's medical staff, as well as himself.

For the past half hour he had been angrily ripping small pieces of paper from some report that Dalton had left for him and rolling them into little balls. He lined the tiny projectiles on his tray table and proceeded to flick them forcefully across the room, aiming for a water stain on the wall that he decided looked kinda like White's face, with the broken nose courtesy of their last meeting. He hadn't missed yet.

He was still in the process of pelting water-stain White with his little paper missiles when a large form that could only have been Joshua entered his peripheral vision. He sighed and continued his target practice, not looking at the transhuman. Joshua had a way of seeing through his mask to the true feelings underneath, and he didn't really feel like talking about those feelings right now. He was too busy wallowing in self-pity. It was not something he had a lot of experience with, but he thought he'd give it a shot for a while.

"Hey, big guy," he said flatly, eyes still focused on his target. "Back again, huh?" Joshua had been to visit him several times since he'd woken up. It made Max's absence that much more painful.

All it took was one look at Alec for Joshua to know that Max had not come to see him. He had hoped that she would have taken his advice earlier, but he'd underestimated how stubborn she could be. Maybe he should have been more blunt. Max was so tied up in knots, she really had no idea what her absence was doing to Alec. He hid it well, but Joshua could see the deep hurt and self-doubt that was consuming his friend. He needed to do some damage control. Maybe he could buy Max a bit more time to come to her senses.

"How you feeling today?" Joshua asked. Best to start off with a safe topic.

Alec finally quit pelting the wall and looked at Joshua. His mask was now completely in place and rock solid. Even Joshua could no longer catch a glimpse of the emotions that lay behind it. Alec put on his trademark I'm-always-all-right smirk and leaned back against his propped up bed.

"I feel pretty good. Well… as long as I don't move. Or breathe."

Joshua nodded, then brought out the large piece of paper that he had holding behind his back and held it out to Alec. It was homemade get well card, full of colorful paint and glued bit of paper. Written on it were a bunch of names in various hands.

"X-8's in Joshua's art class. Wanted to make Alec a feel better card."

Alec's smirk was replaced by a small smile, as he traced his hand lightly over the surface of the card. So many people had been by to wish him well, or sent him notes when Vash started limiting his visitors. Everyone but the one person he truly wanted to see. His smile faded, and he closed his eyes, not wanting Joshua to see the pain he knew he couldn't hide.

"Why won't she come see me, Josh?" he said quietly, barely loud enough for the transhuman to hear.

Joshua raised his eyebrows. He hadn't expected this. He had expected Alec to put on his strong soldier façade and pretend everything was okay. He hadn't realized Alec was so close to the breaking point that his façade was beginning to crack. He had been prepared to deal with an emotional Max, but he was completely unprepared for an openly emotional Alec. How could he keep the rift between Max and Alec from widening without betraying Max's confidence?

"Little Fella pretty busy," he said cautiously. It wasn't really a lie. Max _had_ been busy. But the reason she had been keeping herself busy was another matter altogether.

Alec fixed him with an emotionless stare. Joshua could see 494 in that cold gaze.

"I thought we were friends, Joshua. Don't bullshit me."

Alec braced himself. He knew Joshua wouldn't lie to him. If Max was with Logan, then Josh would tell him. He may not like the answer, but the pain would be better than not knowing. When Joshua hung his head, Alec was certain that the tranhuman was trying to break the news to him gently, and the pain that seized his chest and closed up his throat made him think that maybe it would have been better not knowing. He almost didn't hear what Joshua said next.

"Alec… Max need time. Please, just give Max time." The dog-man gave Alec a little reassuring pat on the leg, then turned and walked from the room. He had done what he could, but Max and Alec needed to work out this out on their own.

Alec stared after Joshua, completely confused by his cryptic comment. Max needed more time. What the hell did that mean? Time for what? And was that a good thing, or a bad thing?

* * *

Alec had worked himself into a complete state by the time Dalton arrived to visit later that evening. His nerves were completely shot, and he took it out on the poor, unsuspecting X-6.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Alec ranted when the kid came into the room.

Dalton drew up short as he was completely taken aback by the question. He raised his eyebrows in shock. Alec had never talked to him that way, at least not when he was serious anyway.

"I, uh, tried to smuggle you some real food past the Doc." He hiked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate Vash's general direction. "She must have some bloodhound DNA in her or somethin', 'cause she sniffed it out right away and nabbed me. Was gonna ban me from stopping by, but I talked her out of it. Took a while, though."

Realizing that he had snapped at the kid for no reason, Alec sighed and ran his left hand through his hair. He was still having some trouble moving the right arm, what with his shoulder blade still healing, not to mention the gunshot wounds on that side.

"Sorry, kid. Bad day."

Dalton cautiously continued forward, examining Alec closely through narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, I guess so. Do you want me to go?"

Alec shook his head, feeling like a complete ass for taking his frustrations out on the nearest target.

"No, no. Don't go. I'm going out of my fuckin' mind here, man. I've never been so sick of my own company in my entire life."

Dalton laughed and plopped down in the chair next to Alec, propping his feet up on the beside table and pushing the chair back so it balanced on its rear legs. You think he would have learned from the last time, but even transgenic teenagers had a hard time learning their lessons.

Alec looked at the boy's young, smiling face, and he had a sudden flash of memory. That face was bruised and bloody, eyes scared and pleading as they begged him to hold on just a little bit longer. He blinked, and present day Dalton was back, smiling and making some wiseass comment about slacking off while everyone else was hard at work. As he looked at his young friend, he realized just how much Dalton had done to save him. He would have surely died without him, this kid that in some ways knew him better than anyone else.

"Dalton," Alec interrupted, his tone deep and serious. "I never thanked you for what you did. I would have been a dead man without you."

Dalton took his legs from the table and let the legs of the chair slam back on the floor. He shifted, a bit uncomfortable at such praise. He didn't think he deserved it. After all, Alec had taken that first bullet to save him.

"I didn't do much."

Alec kept the X-6 pinned with his gaze. "Yes, you did. And I won't forget it."

Dalton swallowed hard, and was embarrassed to feel a blush rise to his cheeks. He ducked his head to hide his face.

"Well, you know, anything for a brother."

When the words came out of his mouth, Dalton realized just how much he meant them. Not in the all-hail-the-transgenic-brotherhood sort of way, but in the way of family, of flesh and blood. They may not have been flesh and blood, but he figured they were close enough in all the ways that counted. He would never admit that to Alec, though. He would probably think he was being ridiculously sentimental. He glanced up at the older man from under his brows to see if the X-5 was laughing at him.

Alec wasn't laughing. His smile was wide and genuine, a rare sight on Alec's face.

"Thanks for saving my ass, little brother."

They sat for a moment in silence, and Alec thoughts returned to a time when he remembered saying similar words to Max, after the Berrisford thing. God, they had been through so much together since then. As he thought back on all of the times they had been there for each other, he became well and truly pissed. After everything they had gone through to get to this point, how could she just hide from him like that? He figured she was probably blaming herself to some degree for what happened, in typical Max fashion.

_Maybe she's trying to spare me from seeing how happy she is with Logan. Maybe she feels sorry for me. Well, I don't want her pity, and I am fucking tired of feeling sorry for myself. _

Alec made a decision. He grabbed the covers with his good left hand and threw them off his legs. He began to slide his legs toward the floor, causing Dalton to abruptly stand, a panicked look on his face.

"What are you doing?" he asked, voice a bit higher than his usual tone.

Alec continued to ease himself off the bed, teeth grinding and sweat popping on his forehead from the effort.

"Well," he said, his breathing already heavy from the exertion, "since you're my little brother now, as older brother, I get the right to boss you around. Take me to Max."

Dalton's eyebrows shot up at this, and he quickly moved to the other side of the bed, arms raised in expectation of having to catch Alec's collapsing form.

"Are you fucking crazy?! That is _so _not a good idea!"

Alec's feet finally touched the ground, and he was completely upright for the first time in nine days. He found himself leaning heavily back against the bed as a wave of dizziness and nausea swept through him. Dalton continued to hover, nervously bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"See, this is not good! Not good! You need to be back in bed!"

Alec reached out his left hand and grabbed Dalton by the upper arm to help steady himself. He closed his eyes and tried to take a deep cleansing breath, but caught himself as he realized his damaged lung would not allow it. He took a couple of slow, small breaths, then opened his eyes to stare down the X-6.

"I am sick of her dodging me, Dalton. Take me to Max now, or so help me, I'll drag my ass there on my own. I'll crawl if I have to."

Dalton returned Alec's stare. The look in his friend's eyes assured him that he was deadly serious. He bit his lower lip and nodded.

"All right."

Alec sagged against the bed in relief. Finally, he was going to do something. He was going to quit driving himself crazy and take some action, which was good, because if he waited on Max, he just might die of old age. He was itching for a fight. Adrenalin coursed through him, and he figured he could hold himself together long enough to confront Max.

"Good, then help me get some clothes. Max and I are gonna finish this thing one way or another, 'cause I'm tired of fucking waiting. She's gonna talk to me whether she likes it or not."

* * *

A/N: All right. I imagine everyone would like to give Max a smack upside the head right now to knock some sense into her. If this is what you are feeling, then I succeeded in my task. But don't be too hard on her. Her heart is in the right place. She's just one very emotionally challenged individual going through an extreme situation.

For those of you who were hoping for some dramatic grand finale where Alec wakes up in Max's arms and they declare their undying love or whatever, I'm sorry, but that is _waaaay _too warm and fuzzy for this story, and it would have been a complete 180 in tone. I would have despised myself forever had I done that.

Next up is Endings and Beginnings...honest!


	12. Ch 11: Endings and Beginnings

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: _Oh, for God's sake!_ Go read the previous chapters for the disclaimers!

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

A/N: Okay, here it is finally, as promised…Endings and Beginnings. Better late than never, huh? You might want to go to the bathroom, find a comfortable chair, grab a drink and a snack, 'cause this is a long one, folks. I mean _really _long. I am totally serious about the pee break. There are probably multi-chapter fics shorter than this friggin' chapter, man.

Much love to everyone who's been along for the ride. It's been a wild one.

Warning: The usual stuff. Language, etcetera, etcetera… nothing worse than what you've come across already.

* * *

Chapter 11: Endings and Beginnings

Max stood in the shadows of the building across the street from Medical, her thumbs hooked in the pockets of her cargo pants, her lips pursed. She had spent a couple of hours doing some serious soul searching after she had spoken to Joshua earlier, and had finally resolved to go see Alec, no matter the cost. The problem was that she found she couldn't make her feet take her any closer. In her mind, she could almost see through the solid walls of the building to the room where Alec lay, but she couldn't make her feet carry her there. Her muscles were starting to tense up from the constant tug of war, her body both trying to go and trying to stay at the same time. She narrowed her eyes and muttered a command through clenched teeth.

"Move. Come on, _move_, goddammit."

But her feet didn't listen, so she just stayed in the same spot and continued to stare at the building. After a few minutes, she made a little sound of frustration and slammed a fist into the side of her leg. As much as she wanted to see Alec and fix things between them, she still couldn't seem to make herself take that step. She closed her eyes and sighed, filled with self-loathing. _You fucking coward, _she cursed inwardly Incapable of anything else, she spun on her heel and ran.

She found herself back at her apartment. She hadn't stayed in Alec's apartment since he came out of his coma. Before, when deep down she feared that he was lost to her, staying at Alec's place had been a small way to stay connected to him. When he woke up, it seemed like she was suddenly an intruder--that it was a crude invasion of his space--and she couldn't stay there any longer. So she had moved back into her own place. The only thing that she had kept of Alec's had been his sweatshirt, though now she only wore it in the privacy of her own apartment where no one else could see.

As she entered her bedroom, she grabbed the sweatshirt from where it lay at the bottom of her bed and shrugged into it. She immediately felt the tension drain from her shoulders; it was amazing the calming affect that simple article of clothing had on her. But she knew the magic wasn't in the soft cloth, it was in the connection it had to Alec.

She threw herself down on the bed, grunting a bit as she landed on the lumpy mattress. She maneuvered herself until her head hung off the end of the bed, turning the world upside down. Her hair trailed down to brush the floor. She hoped the increased blood flow to her head would help her think of a way out this. She had screwed everything up so badly. As Joshua would have put it, her relationship with Alec was currently FUBAR, and it was no one's fault but her own. It was time to fix it. She just couldn't for the life of her figure out how.

She let her head hang upside down until she could hear the blood pounding in her ears, until she could feel the pressure of the blood rushing to her face. She was about to give up, head over to Command and offer to work an extra shift, when she spotted a small rectangular shape on the floor under her dresser. It was her cell phone. She usually left it on the top of her dresser, but it must have been knocked from the charger and fallen behind during the commotion of the past couple of days. Alec had insisted that she keep one, and had made sure that it stayed in service. She had protested that she really didn't need it, that anyone could reach her on the radio or through the Communications Center in Command, but Alec had insisted. _Never know when you might get the urge for a little girl talk_ he had told her. The proverbial 100-watt bulb snapped on over Max's head.

_Girl talk_. That was _exactly_ what she needed.

Max flipped her legs over her head in a backwards somersault to the floor, landing in a crouch beside the bed. She reached under the dresser and snatched the phone. Coming to rest on her knees, she bit her bottom lip as she held down the speed dial button to call the one person who might help her get her head on straight.

* * *

Original Cindy breathed a deep sigh of relief as she sank down further into the tub, bubbles spilling over the sides. Her curly hair was pulled back with a colorful scarf, and her face was covered in a hardened greenish-white mask. Cucumber slices were carefully balanced over her eyes. This pampering session had been longer overdue. Normal had been busting their asses for the past two weeks with extra shifts, and she was bone tired.

She was just falling into a comfortable haze when she heard her cell phone ring from on top of her clothes piled on the floor. She wanted to frown, but that would have messed up her facial mask. She had spent far too long heating up the water for this bath to deal with whatever fool had the audacity to interrupt her favorite pastime. She made a small growling noise at the back of her throat and decided to ignore it. After several rings, the call went into her voicemail. She relaxed again, determined to forget the interruption. She had only about two minutes of blessed peace before it rang again. Not moving from her spot, OC issued a verbal warning to whoever was on the other end of the line.

"Whoeva you are, you do not wanna be messin' wit' a girl's girly time."

The phone was quiet once again. In less than a minute this time, it began to ring. OC finally sat up, the cucumbers falling from her eyes to plop into the bathwater. She glared at the phone, wishing boils in uncomfortable places to whoever it was that had screwed up her night. With a hard sigh, she hauled herself out of the tub, grabbing a towel to wrap around her as she reached down for the phone. Is stopped ringing in her hand before she could answer it, the display reading _3 Missed Calls_. She hit the button to list the calls, and panicked a bit when the list read MAX, MAX, MAX. She was about to hit the button to return the call, when the phone rang again, MAX lighting up the display.

Cindy quickly hit the button to answer, earlier anger replaced by deep concern.

"Max, what's wrong? Is it Alec?" Max had called her days ago to let her know that Alec had come out of the coma. The call had been very short, and Max had sounded kinda funny, but OC had chalked that up to the heavy drama of the situation. Maybe Alec was not as all right as she thought. She heard a sigh of relief from the other end of the line.

_Cindy, thank God._ There was a short pause, followed by an angry, _Why the fuck didn't you answer your phone?_

Cindy rolled her eyes and sat down on the toilet lid. Alec must not be in any immediate danger, or Max wouldn't be so pissed. Looks like this was going to take a while.

"Homegirl, you go and fuck wit' Original Cindy's bath time and got the stones to go callin' her out? You best step off 'fore OC 'cide to git nasty."

She could practically hear Max's teeth grind through the phone. _All right. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I just really need to talk to you._

OC leaned forward to rest one elbow on her leg, plopping her chin down on one hand as the other held the phone up to her ear.

"Aiight, boo. Tell Original Cindy the problem." She waited for Max to speak, but there was silence from the other end. She shook her head--this was gonna be like pulling teeth. "Is it about Alec?"

There was another pause, and then Max finally answered. _Yes...and no._

OC threw her eyes up to heaven. Her girl had always been a bit of a mystery, but she was sure gonna need divine intervention this time to figure her out.

"Yo' gonna have to lay it out for Cindy a bit better than that, boo, if you want her to figure out yo' cryptic ass." She took a breath, and counted to ten for patience. She had heard that worked sometimes. "Is Alec okay?" Only that boy could tie Max up in knots like this.

_I don't know!_ Max's words came out in an agonized rush and had OC raising her eyebrows. This caused a maze of cracks to run through her facial mask, and she frowned, which caused a whole new set of cracks.

"Huh? Whatcha mean, you _don't know_?" Cindy's tone managed to relay both disbelief and disdain at the same time.

_I don't know, OC. I haven't been to see him since he woke up. That's the problem!_

OC's eyes widened in disbelief at Max's words. "You tellin' me yo' boy took two bullets to the chest an' you ain't even been ta see him for, whatsit, like four days now?"

_Yes! I am a complete bitch! I fucked up because I'm a big damn coward, and it is all my fault that he got shot. All I've ever done is hurt him, and I'm afraid I'll just keep hurting him, and he doesn't deserve that, Cindy. _

Max's confession had come out in one long, fast rush. OC needed to get her to calm down.

"Girl, take a breath."

But Max didn't slow down. _It fucking scared me, what he was willing to risk for my sake. He practically threw his life away because he thought I needed to be with Logan to be happy. He was in love with me, but he was willing to give up any chance to be with me. How the hell can I deal with that! _

"Boo, love makes you do crazy things sometimes." Silently, OC added, _and I'm not just talkin' 'bout Alec. _

_But what if I've made him reckless? I mean, he's willing to do something like that for me when he thinks I don't even return his feelings, what the hell else would he be willing to risk? How can I allow him to do that? What if he gets himself killed because he feels he's gotta play the big damn hero for me? _

Original Cindy smiled. Finally, they had come to the crux of the matter.

"Girl, Cindy gonna give you the truth straight up, 'cause I think yo' ready to hear. It's time yo' pulled yo' shit together and start actin' like the strong specimen of the female race you are 'stead of some pansy-ass, no backbone, whiny little bitch." She heard Max suck in a sharp breath at the harsh words, but it was time for the tough love approach, and she was sure those words would get Max's attention.

"First off, that boy been reckless long 'fore you two started playin' leaders of yo' Freak Nation. He always been the big hero, in his own, warped sorta way. You can't go takin' blame for no one's actions but your own. Second, I think yo' need to recognize the real problem here. You're afraid, jus' like you always been afraid."

_Afraid?_ Max's voice was defensive.

"You're afraid to put your heart out there, Max, 'cause you're so scared it's gonna get damaged. Think about it, huh? How long were you 'not like that' wit' Logan? How long you and hotboy been dancin' 'round each other? Shit, Max, how long was it before you even admitted to OC that you were made in a lab? You hate to let anyone in. If you don't let them in, they can't hurt you, right? They can't leave you, and they can't die."

OC could hear Max's breathing on the other end of the line, so she knew her friend was still listening. She wished she could have done this face to face instead of on the phone, so she could give her girl a big, supportive hug.

"You been so busy being scared of losing him, Max, that you might've already lost him."

OC heard a strangled noise on the other end of the line, as if Max was trying to hold in a sob.

_Dammit, Cindy, what if I'm too late? What if I __**have**__ lost him?_

At this point, Cindy wanted to just reach through the phone and strangle her friend.

"Girl, you hear yoself? You givin' up! That is not the Max Guevara that Original Cindy know and love. Where the badass chick won't take no for an answer? She best step to the plate and represent, 'cause OC can't be seen hangin' wit' this sad shadow her girl been frontin' of late."

* * *

Max stood next to her window, head leaning on the glass, as she listened to OC's words. She smiled slightly. Her friend was right. This whole fiasco had caused her to have one hell of an identity crisis. For the past couple of months, she had been the strong and confident leader of Terminal City, secure in the knowledge that Alec had her back. She had allowed one fateful moment to derail all that. Cindy was right. She had become a shadow of herself. _Enough was enough_.

"Thanks, Cin. I really needed to hear that."

_You jus' hearin' it, or you gonna do somethin' 'bout it?_

Max turned away from the window, a crooked smile on her face. "I'm gonna do something about it. Right now." She began to pull the phone from her ear and walk from the bedroom, ready to end the call, when she heard OC's voice yell out her name.

_Max. Max!_

She put the phone back to her ear. "Huh?"

_Do yoself a favor 'fore you go see yo' boy._

Max's brows drew together in puzzlement. "What's that?"

_Look in a mirror. _With that comment, Original Cindy hung up on her.

Max frowned and stepped back in front of her dresser to look in the cracked mirror above it. What she saw made her drop the cell phone, and it clattered on the floor.

"Holy shit!"

She was a mess. Her hair was in tangled disarray, caused in part by her earlier war with the water pipes and in part by repeatedly running her hands through it all day. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, with dark circles underneath. Her skin was entirely too pale and smudged with an occasional streak of dirt, and her lips looked a bit ragged from biting them too often. Alec's sweatshirt was the only clean thing she had on, as the rest of her clothes were dirty and completely rumpled from having air dried while she was wearing them. She had enough female pride left to not want to go see a man that looked like Alec looking like she did right now. She muttered a quiet thanks to Cindy before shimmying out of her clothes while she hopped into the bathroom. She may not be able do much about the dark circles and the pale skin, but as least she could clean up a bit, maybe even put on a bit of lip gloss.

For the first time in almost a week and a half, Max was excited. She was finally ready to take some action, and _damn_ if it didn't feel good.

* * *

"Stop. _Fuck_, Dalton, I need to stop."

The words came out in a breathless wheeze. Alec's chest felt like it was on fire, and he desperately wanted to suck in a deep breath, but his still healing lung refused to allow it. He was reduced to short, panting breaths. He had been okay for a while, the adrenalin that had surged through him at the thought of taking action keeping him sustained for a short time. But the adrenalin soon faded, and he quickly found that nine days was not enough to recover from coma-inducing bullet wounds, even for a transgenic. His legs were beginning to buckle from exhaustion. Dalton was trying to support him as best he could, but the kid was a lot shorter and a lot lighter than he was. Alec had a sudden flash of the other time they had been in this position--in the tunnel, when Dalton had dragged his bloodied and beaten body all the way back to Terminal City.

Dalton leaned Alec up against the nearest wall and wiped the sweat from his own brow before running a hand through his spiky hair. He too was reminded of the previous time they had made a similar trek, and the memory was not really helping things. He kept a hand on the uninjured side of Alec's chest to help him stay upright. He glanced up at his friend. Alec was a mess. Sure, he looked a lot better than the last time Dalton had hauled his ass around, as he wasn't covered in blood this time, but he still looked awful.

Alec's face had once again taken on the ashen tone it had shortly after he had been shot. He was dripping with sweat, and his body shook with light tremors from the exertion. He was drowned by the button-down brown flannel shirt Dalton had found at the nearby laundry for him to wear--one of Joshua's. The combination of his healing shoulder blade and the gunshot wounds, all on Alec's right side, made it impossible for him to hardly even move that arm, much less pull a shirt on over his head.

Dalton hung his head, breathing a bit heavy himself. "Dammit, Alec, I'm taking you back to Medical."

Alec shook his head, jaw clenched tight and eyes shut as he tried to focus on settling his breathing.

Dalton threw up a hand in protest. "You're never gonna make it, and you know it." Alec had wanted to go over to Max's apartment and wait for her, but they would have to trek across almost the entire length of Terminal City to get there. They had only come about a quarter of the way.

Alec sighed and sagged against the wall. The kid was right. He was never gonna make it. Even with Dalton helping him, he wasn't sure if he was gonna make another block. He refused to give up though. Once a soldier, always a soldier.

"Can't... go back," he said haltingly, still trying to catch his breath. "Too far now. 'Sides... Doc'll... kill us for what we did."

Alec knew there was no way that they could have gotten out of Medical without Vash spotting them. He'd had Dalton make a bogus call that someone had been seriously injured by a piece of falling equipment in one of the buildings furthest from Medical. He'd felt kinda guilty about that, but he'd had to do what he had to do. Vash had rushed out, dragging most of her small staff of field medics with her. That had only left Widget, who was no match for a crafty X-6 like Dalton. The kid had innocently brought the transhuman a cup of coffee, which he had conveniently laced with a sedative he had pinched from the storage room that everyone referred to as the "medicine cabinet." They had covered the transhuman with a blanket, and then made their way out the back entrance of the building. Fortunately, the sun had long set, and most of the transgenics still up were frequenting the rec hall, so they didn't have a lot of trouble avoiding detection.

"Well, there's no way in hell you're making it all the way to her place," Dalton said sternly. "I told you this was a bad fuckin' idea. But do you listen to me? _No_! I don't even know why I bother. I'm just a stupid kid, right? No one listens to the stupid kid, even when he's right…"

Alec's eyes were slits as he stared at the X-6 in front of him, a bit annoyed at the boy's attitude. He had no one to blame but himself. He had basically molded the kid into the smart ass he was today. Alec wondered if this was how his own personality affected Max, because if that was the case, he was thinking he owed her an apology.

_Never making it all the way_... that much was certain. Time to revise the plan.

"Command. Max's office... Only a... block away."

Dalton ground his teeth. Terminal City's Second in Command was too damn stubborn for his own good.

Alec gave the kid half a smirk. "Shorter than going back."

Dalton rolled his eyes at this. "Fine. But if you tear your stitches and start bleeding all over me, I'm dumping your ass on the ground."

Alec managed a full smirk this time, reminded of something Dalton had said to him the night before they had gone on that ill-fated mission. "No you won't," he replied. "You like me too much."

Dalton frowned at having his own words used against him. He shook his head and sighed, resigned to his task. Without a word, he helped pull Alec from the wall, and they continued down the dark, back streets of TC in order to avoid running into anyone. It was just their luck that another transgenic happened to use the back streets for a similar reason--he was a bit shy for a transgenic and liked to avoid other people if possible. As Alec and Dalton rounded the last corner to turn into the back alley behind Command, they came face to face with a wide-eyed and shocked X-6: Oscar.

At the sight of the assistant to Terminal City's Second in Command dragging said worn-looking SIC through the back alley, he knew that he had stumbled onto something that he _so_ did not want to get involved in. Oscar was all about the fine art of covering one's ass, and getting involved with whatever the pair in front of him were up to was definitely not conducive to keeping his ass out of a sling. It wasn't that he was afraid of action or danger--he just thought it was smarter to avoid it.

"Uh " Oscar stammered, frozen in place and glancing from Alec to Dalton and back, " Sir?" he asked Alec questioningly, hoping the X-5 would dismiss him and he wouldn't get drug into the mess. When Oscar was nervous, he unconsciously fell back on formal military address.

Alec and Dalton shared a look, Alec giving the X-6 a weary nod. Dalton nodded back, and then turned to Oscar, taking charge of the situation.

"Oscar. Great. Give me a hand here. This big oaf is heavy."

Oscar's head looked like it was on a swivel, turning back and forth between Alec and Dalton even quicker than before, a look of apprehension on his face.

"But, um " he began, then trailed off. Oscar realized he was starting to wring his hands, and quickly stuffed them into his pockets. He really wished he had his assault rifle; it always made him feel more secure. But he was off duty, so unfortunately he was without heavy armament.

He looked hesitantly at Alec, almost afraid to ask the question. " aren't you supposed to be restricted to bed rest? Sir?" The _Sir_ came out almost a squeak as his voice cracked. He shifted his weight to the balls of his feet, ready to run if he had to.

Alec was about to open his mouth to answer, but Dalton took an aggressive step toward Oscar, dragging the taller X-5 with him. Oscar instinctively took a step back. Among the X-6's, Dalton was an alpha--Oscar was not. This meant that a confrontation between the two would most likely result in Oscar backing down.

"Look, Oscar," Dalton said in a menacing tone, "you're gonna help us out here and you're gonna keep your mouth shut about it, or so help me, the next time I see you I will pound your ass into the fucking ground."

Oscar swallowed awkwardly. Despite the fact that he wasn't an alpha, he was an excellent fighter--but the problem was, so was Dalton. He figured he could hold his own against the other boy under normal circumstances, but a pissed off Dalton with a score to settle would indeed pound his ass into the ground.

Oscar was silent at this threat, but Alec gave a small laugh. "Don't worry, Oscar," he said, then paused to catch his breath. "If anyone finds out I'll tell them I ordered you. Spell Dalton here a bit, would ya?"

Oscar swallowed hard again but nodded, and took Dalton's place on Alec's uninjured side. Dalton immediately scouted ahead, to see if they were going to run into any other interruptions. He jogged back and jerked his head in the direction he came.

"Back entrance is clear. We should be able to get _in_ undetected. Problem is getting you into Max's office. You figure out how we're gonna manage that? Someone spots you, they'll call Vash for sure."

Alec squeezed Oscar with the arm he had wrapped around the kid's shoulders. "That's why it's good we ran into our little buddy, here." His speech was almost back to normal, benefiting from the brief rest.

"Me?" Oscar squeaked, and he stumbled a bit as he buckled slightly under Alec's weight.

"Don't freak out, kid. There should be minimal staff this time of night." Alec paused to take a couple of short breaths. He smiled crookedly at the baby-faced X-6. "All you need to do is create a diversion while Dalton gets me to Max's office."

"Why can't Dalton be the diversion?" Oscar whined, then blushed as he realized how he sounded.

Alec gave the kid a crooked grin. "Because, Oscar, they would be instantly suspicious of Dalton. You, on the other hand, look too cute and innocent to lie."

Oscar frowned, pretty sure he had just been insulted.

* * *

Alec groaned, in pain as much as relief, as Dalton helped lower him to the couch in Max's office. He was actually glad that Max wasn't there at the moment, because passing out in front of her had not actually been part of the plan. At this point, he was pretty sure the plan was, as Josh would put it, FUBAR.

He was on the verge of complete exhaustion, and his right side was pulsing with pain at every beat of his heart, reminding him of when he first woke up from his coma. The two separate flights of stairs that they'd had to traverse to get to this point had been the final straw. Who knew stairs demanded that much lungpower? He had been so fired up to face Max that he hadn't taken into account that his body might not be up to it. He'd thought he felt pretty good when he was back in his bed in Medical. His little trek across TC had shown him just how far from _good_ he really was.

Oscar had done an excellent job of creating a distraction, so they were able to get into Max's office without incident. The X-6 had come into Command bitching loudly to Dix that Zev wanted better surveillance of the outer perimeter. He had begun a heated argument with the transhuman, giving him instructions on equipment placement that were purposely nonsensical. Dix had argued that what Oscar was relaying didn't make any sense, to which Oscar responded by defending Zev's supposed instructions. The argument got heated enough that it drew in the few others hanging around Command, and Alec and Dalton slipped quietly past them.

Dalton hovered over Alec, unsure what to do now that he'd gotten him there. His eyes fell on the radio sitting on Max's desk, and his body twitched with indecision. He didn't want to betray Alec, but he was afraid that his friend might have done something to injure himself further. Alec had spotted the X-6's intentions and warned him off.

"Don't even... think about it."

Brow furrowed with concern, Dalton replied, "This was a bad idea."

Alec closed his eyes against the pain of his aching muscles as he tried to find a more comfortable position on the couch. "Beginnin'... to agree with ya... on that one."

He opened one eye to stare up at Dalton, and he could see the turmoil on the adolescent's face. Sometimes he almost forgot that Dalton was only fourteen. It was really unfair, all the weight that he had put on the kid's shoulders over the past ten days. He'd have to find a way to make it up to him somehow. He opened his other eye so Dalton could see the conviction behind his decision.

"Just leave me here," Alec said. He was once again forced to pause to catch his breath, which was really beginning to irritate him. "I'll be all right."

Dalton bit his lower lip. At that moment, there was no hint of genetically engineered soldier in his face. There was just a scared boy, who had been forced to grow up too fast, afraid his friend--his _brother_--might leave him.

"Promise?" Dalton asked quietly, ducking his head to hide the emotion behind the question.

Alec smiled slightly. Having a little brother apparently involved some responsibilities.

"Yeah. Now get outta here... and let me... sleep." His eyes fell closed on the last word, unable to fight his fatigue any longer.

Dalton sighed and ran a hand through his hair, which was now completely beyond redemption from the too-oft-repeated action. He quietly backed out of the room, closing the door behind him with a soft click. He hoped to hell he had done the right thing.

* * *

Max pushed her way past the entrance to the Medical building, a woman on a mission. She drew up short as she entered the same corridor that Alec's room was on. She was once again frozen in place, as she had been earlier that day outside the building. She clenched her hands into fists, digging her short fingernails into her palms. _No. You're gonna do this thing. You're not gonna chicken out this time._

She started down the corridor, then found herself turning to the left to enter the section that held, among other things, Vash's office. Max told herself that she was not stalling, that she just wanted to get an update on Alec's condition before she went to see him. If she asked Alec, she was sure he would say that he was fine, even if he wasn't.

As she entered the office, she found Vash leaning over a woozy-looking Widget, who was sitting in one of the office chairs, eyes closed and rubbing his head. Max's brows furrowed as she drew back her head in puzzlement.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Vash turned, her featured pinched and her mouth a thin line. "Just the person I wanted to see," the doctor said, her words clipped. She didn't say anything further, just clenched her jaw in anger, which confused Max even more. Max gestured toward the general direction of Alec's room.

"I just came by to see Alec. Thought I'd check with you first, you know, see how he's doing, before I see him and all."

"He's gone," Vash said brusquely, then rung out a cloth from the basin of water sitting on the desk and set the cloth on the back of her medic's neck. Because she was so preoccupied, she did not notice how Max had interpreted her words.

Max stopped breathing and felt the world slowly begin to tilt. She grabbed the doorframe to steady herself, but it didn't help. _Alec was gone? But how could that be? Had there been some sort of internal hemorrhaging_? _No. This can't be happening…_ She felt her vision fading out when it suddenly snapped back into focus when she found Vash directly in front of her, actually snapping her fingers in front of Max's face.

"Did you hear me, dammit?! Are you listening? Alec is gone. Dalton must've snuck him out. Made a bogus medical call, actually drugged Widget into unconsciousness! I'm gonna ring that kid's neck when I get a hold of him. Alec is in no condition..."

Vash was suddenly cut off by a right hook from a seriously pissed-off X-5. Vash landed hard on her butt, grabbing her jaw as she stared up at Max in shock. Max was breathing hard, her eyes wide as she realized what she had just done. Then her whole attitude changed. With eyes narrowed and chin raised, she flipped her now glossy dark hair, thanks to her emergency clean-up session, over her shoulder and glared down at the doctor.

"I'll let you know when I find him." With that comment, she spun and strode out the door.

Vash still sat on the floor, completely baffled. She turned her head when she heard Widget begin to speak in a slightly slurred tone.

"You really have no idea what you said to her, do you?" the furry transhuman asked slowly, having to concentrate to get the words out in his groggy state. At Vash's continued puzzlement, Widget let out a small, ironic laugh.

"You really need to work on your people skills, Vash."

* * *

Max was a block down the street from Medical when her emotions finally caught up with her. She slipped into an alley and threw her back against a wall. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she was hyperventilating. She bent over, resting her hands on her knees, as she tried to catch her breath.

_Get a grip. Get a grip, Max! He's fine. He's not dead. You'll find him and get him back to Medical, and everything will be okay. Keep your head, Max! Do not lose it!_

_Dammit, this is not working!_

Max could not seem to get herself to calm down. Twice now, in the same week, she had thought that Alec had died, and frankly, her nerves were shot. She wished her overactive imagination would stop jumping to conclusions, but it was so hard when every moment you were deathly afraid that what you feared most might yet come to pass. And after having delayed seeing Alec for as long as she had, the prospect of having missed her chance to see him again totally derailed her mental state. She needed to pull herself back together before she could look for Alec. She would head over to Command. A few minutes hiding in her office to gather her wits wouldn't hurt. It was a lot closer than her apartment, anyway.

When she entered the building a few minutes later, she carefully schooled her face to be impassive. She gave Dix a little wave as she climbed the stairs to upper walkway, moving silently to her office. Her hand almost tingled as she placed it on the doorknob, as if she somehow sensed he was behind the door before she opened it. As the door swung inward and she stepped inside her breath caught in her throat, and a surge of warmth spread through her body as her eyes were instinctively drawn toward him.

_Alec._

There he was, sleeping on her couch, as he had so many times in the past. Max slowly closed the door behind her, carefully releasing the knob so that it would latch with a barely audible click. She sagged back against the door, letting out the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, and just stared at him.

_God, he's beautiful_. Granted, Manticore had made all of them attractive, but there was just something about Alec that was captivating. In sleep, his long lashes were closed over the splendor of his hazel-green eyes, eyes that she so desperately longed to see look at her again. She ached to touch him. After having become so intimately familiar with his body when he was in a coma while completing his physical therapy, she hadn't realized how much she missed even a casual touch. But it was simpler than that--she just missed _him_.

Max walked silently toward the couch, unwilling to wake him just yet. Now that she had gotten past that first rush of emotion at seeing him again, she noticed how worn he looked. She had expected him to look better than he did, that he would have improved over the past couple of days, but his face was pale, causing the fading scar on his cheek to stand out against his skin. There was a slight sheen of drying perspiration on his face, and the shirt he was wearing--Joshua's she realized--made him seem smaller, frailer somehow.

Max felt a pang of guilt. Since she had refused to go see Alec, Alec had apparently decided to come to her, and had worn himself out in the process. The guilt was joined by irritation, that Alec had to go and do something stupid again and hurt himself in the process. Her earlier fears of what Alec would risk for her came roaring back to life, and once again, she was mired in the depths of emotional turmoil. Unfortunately, the way Max usually dealt with emotional turmoil was to get angry. She tried to keep herself in check as she sat down on the edge of the couch beside Alec's hip and reached up to lightly shake his uninjured shoulder. Her skin felt as if it was on fire, where her hand touched his shoulder and her hip butted up against his.

"Alec. Alec..." The second time she called his name, accompanied by a light shake, Alec opened his eyes, and she finally caught sight of the gold-flecked green orbs she had long been missing.

Alec blinked sleepily several times, then his eyes widened as he finally registered who sat before him. Those eyes filled with unchecked emotion, unfiltered by the shutters he usually wore to hide his feelings. The combination of pain and exhaustion made him forget about the mask he usually hid behind.

"_Max_," he whispered reverently.

His tone was so full of need that Max ached for him. At the same time, she was filled with a frisson of fear, scared out of her mind by the strength of what she felt for this man. This was uncharted territory for her. Never had she been filled with such a desperate need to be with someone, and not just in a sexual way, though the desire was there. Just sitting beside him on the couch was almost overwhelming. She had no experience with this feeling. It was nothing like what she'd felt for Logan. She almost felt in danger of losing herself, and that frightened her more than anything. Her fears made her instinctively want to seek out a defensive position, and everything she had planned to say was forgotten.

"What the hell are you doing here, Alec? You should be back in Medical. How the hell did you _get_ here?"

Thankfully, Max was able to soften the tone of the words as she said them, but the words themselves made her cringe inwardly. She was not sure really what she had planned to say to him, but she certainly hadn't wanted to start bitching at him right off. _Max_, y_ou idiot!_

Alec stared up at Max, trying desperately to get his soldier's mask in place before she saw something he might not want her to see. He didn't want her to think he was weak. _Weak. Yeah, that was a joke_. At the moment, he felt weaker than a newborn kitten. He must have only been asleep for twenty minutes before Max woke him up, and that did not appear to be enough for him to recover his strength.

He had wanted to fight with her, like he always had. He wanted to grab her and force her to tell him the truth, to tell him once and for all what _was _or _was not _going on between them. He wanted her to admit that she was with Logan, because until he heard it from her lips, there was no way he would ever be able to move on. He wasn't sure he would be able to move on anyway, but he still needed to hear the words.

But his body still ached, and his eyes felt like deep, burning pits in his head. As much as he would like to force Max to deal with the situation, he was just not physically capable of it. As he looked up into her deep brown eyes, to tired to try to figure out the emotion behind them, he wished to hell that he had just stayed in his bed and had found some way to get her to him instead of making that idiotic trek across Terminal City. So he chickened out and scrapped his plans.

He began to lever himself into a sitting position, clenching his teeth to keep from groaning. He swatted Max's hand away when she offered to help him up. As tattered as it may be, he still had a bit of pride left. He was left in the position once again of catching his breath so he could speak. So much for his pride.

"So damn noisy in Medical. Had to… get outta there. Dalton helped… get me here."

Max frowned at his answer. Alec had not put himself through hell trudging all the way here just to get away from the noise. She noticed he was panting, and his breath kept hitching as he tried to draw in more air than his abused body would allow. She bit her lower lip, having trouble dealing with him in obvious pain.

"You know," he continued, still taking breaks to breathe, 'getting a bullet… point-blank through the chest… really fucks with your lung capacity." He hunched over, resting his good left arm on his leg, his right cradled carefully against his side. He knew he was not doing a very good job at masking the pain.

Max took a deep breath, and saw Alec glance at her, looking almost envious of her ability to draw air so freely. "You shouldn't be here, Alec," she said quietly. "You need to be under medical supervision."

Alec shook his head, then let it fall forward, so worn he couldn't even support its weight. "Tired of supervision. Tired of Vash, needles, monitors, well-wishers… all of it." Alec paused at this, and Max could hear the unspoken accusation in his voice regarding one conspicuously missing well-wisher. "You know what? I'm just fuckin' tired."

Alec gave a bitter laugh, which was cut off by several coughs, causing him to wince in pain. "Would've thought five days in a coma… I'd've had enough of sleep." At this, he turned and focused his full attention on her, causing her to feel a blush rise to her cheeks at his unabashed stare. "Always slept so good on your couch, though," as if that explained everything.

At this point, the radio on Max's desk squawked, demanding attention. Max and Alec's heads turned in unison at the noise. Max glanced at Alec, and then slowly rose to go answer the call. She picked up the radio and hit the button.

"Go for Max."

_Max, you found him yet? _Vash's angry voice came loud and clear through the radio. _I swear, when I find him, he's dead meat. He'll wish that he stayed in that damn coma._

Max's eyes met Alec's, and there was such a pleading look in his eyes that, as much as she thought he should be back in Medical, she couldn't sell him out. But she didn't want Vash running all over TC looking for him either, so she decided on a compromise.

"Yeah, I just found him, Vash." Alec's face fell at her words, and Max quickly added, "He's fast asleep here in my office. I really would hate to wake him. Don't worry, I'll make sure he behaves himself. I'll have someone help me bring him back to Medical when he wakes."

The radio was silent for a moment, and both Max and Alec were envisioning the steam that was probably coming out of the doctor's ears.

_Fine. You just let him know he'll be spending an extra week of bed rest for his little escape. And tell him I think I'll have to re-insert that catheter… just to ensure he stays in bed twenty-four/seven. Out._

Max watched as Alec's whole body shuddered at the thought of the catheter. She gave him a small, crooked smile of sympathy and signed off the radio. She placed it down on her desk and walked back over to the couch. She sank down next to him, tucking her one leg under the other. Inwardly, her thoughts were racing, but she kept telling herself to keep it together. _Don't let him see how much he has you rattled, Max. _No matter how much she didn't want to be, she was still a soldier at heart, and her soldier's heart refused to give away the tactical advantage. She gave him a teasing smile, determined to keep things light.

"You know, there are any number of places between here and Medical that have an actual bed."

Alec turned his head to look at her. She was still dodging the issue. He could have played along, cracked some crude joke and let her sweep the whole thing under the rug. But he was tired, he was cranky, and he was definitely in no mood to be swept under the rug. His face was impassive, but all the hurt that had piled up over the past couple of days Max had been avoiding him shone through, darkening his normally hazel eyes to a dark, vivid green. There would be no more hiding, no more half-truths. Time to bite the fuckin' bullet.

"You've been avoiding me." His tone was full of accusations, much more than those four words conveyed.

Max's heart began pounding against her ribcage. For a moment, she'd actually been foolish enough to think that they were going to just avoid the whole issue for now and pretend that everything was normal. But she could tell from the hurt look in his eyes that there would be no more avoiding anything. Still, the long-standing nature of their relationship took over, and she immediately became defensive.

"Have not. I've got a lot of responsibilities, as you well know. There was a lot of stuff going on around here that needed my attention. There was this electrical problem over on Third, then the new group of refugees, and we have this water leak..." She trailed off as she saw Alec close his eyes, and a look of deep hurt flashed over his face before he once again gained mastery of his features. When he did, his face was like stone.

"Too busy to take ten minutes out of your hectic schedule, huh? _For four fucking days?!_"

Alec's voice raised in anger, and he took too deep a breath. He winced, his hand unconsciously going to his chest. He focused on taking smaller breaths, and his mind began to fill with images of what he feared Max had been doing in those four days she had avoided him. Images of her with Logan tormented him, and strangely, the image that seemed to torment him the most was a picture of Max reaching out to lovingly caress Logan's cheek.

Max ducked her head in shame, desperately searching for the words to explain to him why she could not come see him. But what could she say? She would gladly face down an army of Familiars than try to explain her feelings to Alec. She didn't think she could explain why she had been unable to do it, not without admitting things she was too scared to admit to even herself right now, and especially not when he seemed so vulnerable. To Max, it seemed that if she admitted she had feelings for him, then something horrible would happen and he would be taken away from her again.

Alec glanced at Max's silent form. It was a bad idea to try to force the issue when he could hardly even stand on his own two feet. He so wanted to fight with her, but his body was not up to it. Apparently, Max wasn't up for a fight either. They had fallen into an awkward stalemate, neither transgenic sure of the next move.

Max took Alec's silence as a bad sign, sure that he was in too much pain to talk. Not much else could normally stop Alec from talking. She leaned forward, trying to get a better look at him to see if there was anything physically wrong with him.

"We can talk later, Alec. I want to take you back to Medical. Now." She stood and began to grab hold of his good arm, but he shrugged her off roughly. She put her hands on her hips, and it was all she could do not to stamp her foot at him. "Dammit, Alec!"

Alec closed his eyes against the building pain in his chest. He was not sure that all of it was due to his physical wounds. Max wasn't ready to talk to him, to deal with it, and he was in no condition to make her. He was ready to table the issue for another day and let her off the hook.

"I don't wanna fight anymore, Maxie," he whispered, staring blankly at the opposite wall. "I'm just too damn tired."

Alec sighed and ran a hand through his hair, which still stuck up in spiky disarray. Just one more thing in his life that was screwed up. He gave a small, bitter laugh.

"I seriously hope my hair is not stuck like this."

Alec jerked in shock as he felt Max's hand suddenly run through his hair, and his heart started to pound.

"I think it's kinda cute," Max told him, still running her hand through his hair. It had almost become second nature for her to run her hands through his hair. She had done it so many times during his coma. She had done it now without thinking, and she found herself staring into his eyes. He looked taken aback at her actions, which made her realize what she was doing, and she pulled her hand back as if he had burned her. "But the rest of you looks like shit," she added, falling back on their usual banter.

Alec grimaced and looked away. "You just gotta hit me where it hurts, don't ya?" he said harshly without thinking. When he looked back, Max refused to meet his gaze, and he immediately regretted saying it. He knew he looked like shit--she was definitely being honest there. He took a moment to look at her--really look at her--and noticed that she probably did not look much better than he did. Her eyes were ringed with dark circles, her normally creamy caramel-toned skin entirely too pale. His other thoughts came screaming to a halt as concern for Max replaced them all.

"When was the last time you slept?" he asked, his voice deadly serious.

Max flipped her hair over her shoulder in an effort to appear nonchalant. "Well, you know, shark DNA and all that..." She hoped that he would drop it, but the intensity of his gaze belied that hope.

"_When?_" he insisted.

Max blew her hair out of face and rolled her eyes upward. "Ten days," she muttered.

When she looked back at him, she could see him doing the math in his head, and could see when he figured out that she hadn't slept since the night they had that horrible fight, the night before he got shot.

Max shook her head, negating the importance of her own sleep habits. "I'm not the one who needs sleep here, mister. Come on..." She nudged his shoulder, trying to get him to lie back down, "...go back to sleep."

Alec gave her a watered-down version of the patented Alec smirk. "I will if you will. There's plenty of room on the couch here for both of us," he said jokingly, patting the couch, never in a million years thinking that she would actually take him up on it.

Max froze, contemplating Alec's offer. She found herself watching him intently, her heart filled with longing, when the word came out before she had a chance to take it back.

"Okay," she said quietly, unable to tear her eyes from his.

Alec's eyebrows raised in astonishment at Max's answer. _She said yes. To sleeping on the couch. In a horizontal position. With __**me. **__Maybe I should have the Doc give me a CAT scan when I get back to Medical, 'cause I think White may have hit me a bit harder than I thought. _

Struck dumb, Alec slowly lowered himself down on the couch, stretching out gingerly. He stared at Max, waiting to see what she would do. He thought his heart would pound right out of his chest when she squeezed her way in behind him, snuggling in between him and the back of the couch so that she would be on his uninjured side. He had no choice but to rest his arm on her back. When she rested her head on his shoulder and her left arm on his chest, he was sure that he would not be able to sleep; he was so hyper aware of every little motion she made. _She has the cure. She's gonna be with Logan_, he kept telling himself. _Don't get your hopes up. It doesn't mean anything. _He wanted to stay awake, to savor every moment he held her in his arms, because he was sure that it would be his last chance to hold her like this. But his body had other plans, and she was so warm and soft next to him, that it wasn't long before he drifted off to sleep.

Max let her head rest lightly below Alec's shoulder, listening to the steady beat of his heart. Not long ago, that heart had stopped beating, but now it was steady and sure, and she reveled in the sound. She had planned to get up, once he was asleep, but the beat of his heart was so soothing, his scent so comforting, that she decided to just lay there for a while. She felt the tension drain from Alec's body as he drifted off to sleep, and she smiled.

She lay there for about fifteen minutes and was about to get up when she noticed a soft, low rumble begin in Alec's chest, vibrating slightly against her cheek. It almost sounded like... purring. Max jolted slightly at this, and she quickly glanced up to ensure she hadn't woken up Alec, but he was still out like a light.

_My God, he's purring. I didn't even know we could do that_.

Max couldn't help but respond to the sound, and she was filled with a comforting warmth as her body melted against Alec's. At that moment, the sound of Alec purring was the most wonderful sound in the world. She laid her head back on his chest and sighed in complete contentment. The sound and soft vibration soon began to lull her to sleep. Her eyes closed, and she drifted off. Not long after she fell asleep, a quiet rumble began in her own chest, and soon her soft purring joined Alec's. Bodies entwined, they were simply content to be wrapped in each other's arms. For the moment, all of their problems could wait.

* * *

Logan Cale walked toward Terminal City's Central Command, his exoskeleton quietly whirring. His legs felt pretty strong today and he hadn't needed to put the device on, but he was more secure with the extra power it afforded him. As he walked, he felt as if he had a large target painted on his back. He had received nothing but cold looks and open hostility since he passed through the tunnel entrance. They all blamed him for what had happened to Alec, and that was okay, because he blamed himself as well.

He was surprised that he had even gotten inside TC. He had fully expected to be turned away at the perimeter, certain that Max would have banned him from entry. He hoped it was because Max's anger had died down a bit, but he was afraid that the real reason was that she just hadn't thought of it yet.

He planned to try to see Max while he was here, hoping that there still might be a slim chance they could salvage their damaged relationship. But she was not the main reason he had risked coming back to Terminal City. Max was not the one that had been hurt the most by his half-assed plan to find the cure. He needed to talk to Alec, to try to apologize for everything that had happened. He didn't know if anything he said would make a difference--_sorry you almost died and ended up in a coma_ just didn't seem to cut it.

He'd called TC every day after the shooting to check on Alec's condition. The only person that had been willing to talk to him had been Luke, and even he had been very brusque. He had been so relieved when he had heard that Alec had come out of the coma. Until then, each day his guilt weighed on him heavier and heavier, and he was horribly afraid that Alec's death would be on his hands. He wasn't sure how he would have lived with that.

From that first night that he had told Alec about the mission, events had spiraled out of control, and everything he had done to try to fix it just made it worse. It was like he had been lost in a maze, and every decision he made had been a wrong turn. He needed to get back on the right path, and to do that, he had to try to square things with Alec. Most of all, he wanted to be able to look in the mirror again without hating himself.

Earlier, he had gone to the Medical building, figuring Alec would still be there, and was surprised when the doctor coldly told him that Alec was not there, and that he should go see Max in Command. He had hoped to speak to Alec before he had to confront Max, but it looked like that was not to be. As he entered Command, he cautiously approached Dix; the transhuman seemed to be in a foul mood already, and he hadn't even spotted Logan yet.

"Hey, Dix," Logan began warily, his hands in his pockets to seem as non-threatening as possible. "You, uh, seen Max around? I was told she was here."

The transhuman pinned him with his monacled stare, a look of mild contempt on his face. The man looked pretty scruffy, and the broken nose and black-eyes that had developed as a result of it didn't help his looks.

"Office," Dix answered in a hard tone, and turned his back on the human. Logan Cale had always irritated him with his superior attitude when it came to his computer skills, his morals, his personal vendetta against injustice… Let Max deal with the ordinary.

Logan rocked back on his heels, and glanced up at the closed door to Max's office. "Okaaaay," he drawled out, then took a fortifying breath before mounting the short flight of stairs to the second level.

Once in front of her door, he knocked softly. He waited for a response, but none came. He knocked again, and said Max's name quietly this time. Still nothing. He wondered if she was ignoring him. His hand hovered over the doorknob, unsure if he should just enter. But he had come here with a purpose, and he refused to leave until he had done what he came here to do. Gathering his courage, he turned the knob and pushed, prepared to face the lioness in her den.

He came to an abrupt halt in the doorway, hand still clutching the knob. The sight that greeted him made any hope he'd had left of fixing things between him and Max crash and burn into dust.

Max and Alec were sleeping on the couch. Max's head rested on Alec's chest, her hand tucked under her cheek. She had thrown a leg over Alec's so that they were intimately entwined. They both looked completely exhausted, which was probably why neither had stirred when he entered. He figured that the slighted noise would have normally woken either transgenic, but they apparently felt completely safe and content in each other's arms, surrounded by the protection of their brethren.

It wasn't the mere sight of them holding each other that caused Logan the most pain. What hurt the most was how _right_ they looked together. As soon as Alec had come on the scene, over a year and a half ago, Logan had immediately known that the man had been a threat to his and Max's relationship. Hell, he had felt similarly threatened by Zack, and Max thought of him as a brother. It seemed like he had always been waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the time when Max would realize that they didn't belong together, that he couldn't compare to others of her own kind.

Logan picked up soft noises coming from the direction of the couch. He thought it was snoring at first, but the gentleness of the sound belied that thought. An image from his childhood flashed before his eyes--a furry ball of fluff on a sunny windowsill, chest vibrating happily from the warm light… Logan's mouth dropped open as he realized they were _purring_. It drove home the hard fact that although he may look like them, he was nothing like them. He was a world apart. No matter what he did, no matter how many Eyes Only missions he completed, no matter how he enhanced himself with mechanical devices, he would never be able to bridge that gap.

Logan leaned hard against the doorjamb for support, finally loosening his hold on the doorknob that had turned his knuckles white. Just as he released his hold on the knob, so he mentally released his hold on Max. He had lost his chance. The story of Max and Logan was finished, and there was no happy ending. Everything he had done to try to get her back had been the very thing that forced her to face her feelings for Alec. As he watched them together, he wondered if maybe this was how it was supposed to be all along. Logan smiled sadly, letting his head fall to the side until it rested against the door.

"Be happy, Max," he whispered quietly, and then slowly backed away, pulling the door closed behind him. Alec didn't need his apology--everything he needed was right there in his arms.

* * *

Max awoke reluctantly, wanting to stay wrapped in that safe, warm place she found herself in. Her shark DNA had other ideas, however, and as it prodded her awake, her fuzzy, half-asleep mind realized that that safe, warm place was Alec. She was amazed at how natural it felt, to lay next to him like that. Head still resting on his chest, she inhaled deeply, closing her eyes in pleasure as she breathed in the scent of him.

When she sensed a subtle change in his breathing, and a slight increase in his heart rate, she propped herself up on one elbow so she could look down at him. After a moment, he slowly opened his green-gold eyes, which pierced into her own dark brown. Neither said a word; they were both mesmerized by what they saw in each other's eyes.

As Max looked down at the man she had wasted so much time pretending to hate, she realized the tremendous hole that would be left in her life if something ever happened to him. Her hand came to rest over his heart, and when she spoke next, her words were filled with awe.

"I almost lost you," she whispered. She had no idea she had spoken the words aloud until the side of Alec's mouth crooked slightly at her words.

"I'm still here, Maxie," he replied in an equally quiet tone.

Something about the way he said it--like he almost took his life for granted--made Max angry. She needed him to understand how important he was, how much his life _mattered_.

"Yeah, by sheer _dumb luck_! If Dalton hadn't been there, you'd have been _dead_! I can't believe you did something that _stupid_, that you'd risk yourself like that."

Alec shrugged. Looked like they were going to get into it after all. At least he had gotten enough rest that he could talk without gasping.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," he said casually. After waking up with Max in his arms, her left leg entwined with his, he found he really had no desire to fight anymore.

Max paused a long time before she spoke again, as if by staring him down she could somehow read his thoughts.

"Why'd you do it?" she asked gravely. She knew what he had said before, but she needed to hear it again, when he was not on the verge of death.

Alec's heart rate increased once more. He didn't really want to talk about why he had done it. He had been so fired up about making Max talk about her feelings, he hadn't even thought that she might question his own. At the look in her eyes, he knew that she would demand an answer.

"'Cause I want you to be happy." Maybe that would be enough. He should have chosen his words more carefully. He realized too late that those words were too close to what he had said that night, and they could not help but remind Max of what he had said shortly after.

"You said that before."

Alec shifted, suddenly very uncomfortable with Max's close proximity. "Yeah…" he said, afraid of what she would say next.

Max could see Alec's obvious discomfort, and it matched her own. But she knew they needed to talk about this if they were ever going to be able to move forward.

"You said some other things..." She trailed off, ducking her head a bit so that she was staring at him from under her lashes.

"Uhhhh…." he stammered, suddenly looking anywhere but at her. The look on his face almost made Max smile; he seemed so flustered. He shifted again on the couch, as if he were about to get up, and she quickly beat him to the punch, sitting up and straddling his legs to keep him captive.

Alec's eyes shot wide at Max's maneuver. His big plan had been to assert his dominance and force her to open up--but here he was, the one being dominated. He gazed up at her, the look on his face begging her to _have mercy_.

Energy surged through Max, and she felt like her old self again. No pansy-ass, no-backbone, whiny bitch here. She felt powerful and in control, and she was determined that they were gonna work this bitch out right now.

"Did you mean it?" she asked, keeping him pinned with her eyes and her body.

Alec thought there were a hundred ways that he could have turned his response into a joke, to laugh it off as he had other serious questions in the past. But as he stared up at the strong and beautiful woman above him, he realized that he couldn't do it. He swallowed hard and looked her in the eye, his face completely open and honest.

"Every word," he said quietly. He was so wrapped up in the emotion of his own confession that he found he couldn't read what Max was feeling.

Max bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling. When she thought she could speak without her voice wavering, she asked quietly, "How long?"

Alec's smirk returned at this, but it was half-hearted. "How long has it actually been or how long since I realized it?" He didn't say the word _love_, but then again, neither had Max. That word was out of both of their comfort zones, and it was not one that either would toss around lightly.

"How _long_?" Max leaned forward to emphasize her question. He knew damn well what she was asking.

Alec reached up to scratch his head. "Well, if you go with the first one, pretty much since you kicked me to the fuckin' door, Maxie. The second one, I guess you could say about ten days ago."

He saw Max close her eyes at his words, and then she hung her head, her dark hair falling forward in a curtain to hide her face. She didn't say anything. _Oh God, I shouldn't have said it, I should've lied through my damn teeth. _When he saw Max's body begin to shake slightly, he began to panic. _Shit, she's mad at me. I totally screwed everything. She's gonna be with Logan, and she doesn't want to be burdened with guilt over my hang-ups. _

"You know, forget I said anything. I'm an injured man and all, right? I mean, I took a couple of serious blows to the head fighting with that asshole White--the fucker broke my face, you know--and it's probably scrambled my brain a bit. I probably won't remember half of this conversation tomorrow. You're not gonna hit me, are you? 'Cause if you are, avoid my right side, will ya? Still hurts like a bitch on occasion. So, you know, we can just pretend this conversation never happened, and I'll go back to Medical, and..."

Alec continued talking, but Max had tuned him out. She was not shaking with anger, but with silent laughter. It was so damn ironic. Alec had felt something for her since the very beginning. It explained so much--why he had hung around, even though for a long time she had treated him like dirt. As she thought back, she realized that she too had felt something for him, but she had ignored the feeling and replaced it with anger and contempt. All of the fights that they'd had, all of the arguments... in hindsight, Max realized that it was their form of foreplay. They had been drawn to each other, and hadn't really known how to deal with it, so they handled it as they would have an enemy in battle--they fought it. They had wasted so much time, fighting their feelings. It was time to stop fighting and give in to the inevitable.

Max smiled as she heard Alec ramble on as he was compelled to fill the silence. She used to be irritated by his sometimes endless ramblings, but after not hearing his voice for so long, she found that she missed it. He sounded as if he was starting to panic at this point, probably completely confused by her silence. She needed to make herself clear, but could she get him to shut up long enough so that she could do it?

Sudden inspiration hit as Max thought of the perfect thing that would get her point across. She flipped back her hair, placed her hands on either side of his head, and without warning, leaned over and kissed him.

Alec's eyes flew wide as one moment he was talking, and the next moment Max was kissing him. It took a minute for his brain to switch gears, and then he finally began to respond to the kiss. His brain was short-circuiting, so confused with what was happening yet so desperately wanting the moment never to end. It was tame as kisses went, but there was so much tenderness and emotion behind it that it overwhelmed him. It seemed like the soft warmth from her lips spread slowly through him, and his entire body tingled from the sensation. It was wonderful, but his mind still couldn't believe it was happening.

Max drew back slowly, licking her lips that still held the taste of him. She watched his reaction. His mouth kept opening and closing, but no sound came out. He looked so confused and so boyishly cute that she couldn't help but laugh.

"If I knew that was all it took to get you to shut up, I would have done it a long time ago."

Alec drew his head back at this statement, completely stunned. Max had just kissed him, and now she was flirting with him? It just didn't compute. "But... Logan... the cure?" he asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

Max suddenly understood Alec's confusion. All this time, he thought she had been with Logan. No wonder he'd been so upset that she had avoided him.

"I took the cure," Max said carefully, not wanting to be misunderstood, "but it doesn't change anything. Logan and I were over long before either of us was willing to admit it." The look of cautious hope on Alec's face caused a deep pang in her chest. "I don't want _Logan_, Alec." She just stared at him at this, her eyes implying that she was looking at the man she wanted. She was hurt by the look of disbelief that came over his face, but knew it was nothing less than she deserved.

"They why...?" Alec asked, too overcome to be able to voice the rest of his question. He gestured to Max, and then back to himself, hoping she would understand.

Max did understand, and she hoped she would be able to explain why she had avoided him all this time. She had needed Original Cindy's help to figure it out herself.

"I was afraid." She paused, the deeply ingrained teachings of Manticore rebelling at such an admission of weakness. She ignored the feeling, took a deep breath, and pressed on.

"When you were shot, everything that I had been ignoring, all the feelings that I had been pushing away, it was suddenly all right there and I couldn't hide from it anymore. And it hurt, Alec. It hurt that I felt all these things, and you could have died. You could have died and it would have been because of me."

At this point, Alec opened his mouth to say something, but Max quickly put her fingers over his lips to stop him. "Just let me say this. You took on that foolish mission because of me. I thought that if I stayed away, that maybe I wouldn't hurt you again. That maybe... I wouldn't get hurt."

"Not all hurts are physical, Max," Alec said quietly, the evidence of that hurt shining clearly in his eyes.

"I know, and I'm sorry." There was a long pause before she felt able to continue. "You and me, Alec... it's dangerous."

Alec clenched his jaw at these words, fighting to maintain when he fully expected Max to tell him they could never be. She was going to tell him that they couldn't be together, that she was doing this to protect him. Just like she had done with Logan.

Max saw that he was steeling himself, expecting the worst. She smiled softly, and put her hand on his cheek, running her thumb over his full lower lip.

"But I guess some things are worth the risk."

This time, she leaned in slow, watching his eyes the whole way until she finally met his lips. The first kiss had been tender and sweet, but this one was full of a year and a half of pent up passion. Her tongue surged forward, seeking entrance, and Alec met her passion with his own. They kissed each other as if the world might end, and all they had was this one last moment. Each strained for dominance, alternately giving and taking, neither gaining the upper hand. Alec reached up with his good hand to grab the back of Max's neck, and he pulled her down closer to him, desperate for more contact. In his need, he'd forgotten about his injuries, but he was rudely reminded when his action pulled Max's weight down on his abused chest. He tried to stop himself, but he couldn't help but whimper at the pain.

Max drew back suddenly at the sound, breaking off the kiss, a concerned look on her face. Her lips were red and full, and her chest heaved as she caught her breath. She bit her lower lip, guilty that she had hurt him, as she saw his back arch slightly and his eyes crunch up in pain.

"I'm all right," he said through clenched teeth.

Max smiled fondly at this familiar line. "No, you're not," she said kindly, running a hand through his hair. "You need more rest. Go back to sleep. I'll get Joshua to help you back to Medical later."

Max carefully levered herself off him and got up, but before she could move away, Alec grabbed her wrist and tugged, pulling her back down so that she was on her knees beside him.

"Max " Alec said, his voice pleading, face once again full of uncertainty. "I'm gonna wake up and this will have all been a dream, right?"

Max melted at the quiet desperation in his voice. He looked so insecure, and it was so unlike him. He was completely open right now--no soldier's mask to hide behind. Alec put on confidence and swagger as naturally as he did his clothes, and it was so rare to see him without it. This was not Alec the cocky ladies man or Alec the confident braggart, or even Alec, Second in Command of Terminal City. _It was just Alec_.Max's heart overflowed with feeling for him. One day, she hoped she'd find the words to tell him.

"It's not a dream, Alec." She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his forehead, blinking back tears. "It's just the beginning," she whispered. She drew back, and smiled at the look of wonder on his face.

"I'll be here when you wake. No more disappearing acts. I promise." She put a hand over his where he was holding her and squeezed. "I'll be back, I'm just gonna get you a blanket." With that, Max slowly withdrew her hand and stood. She walked to the doorway, and glanced back at him before she opened it, giving him a reassuring smile before she left the room.

Alec watched her go. He was still amazed at what had just taken place. He hardly believed that he could be so lucky. He had come through the darkness, and had finally reached a beautiful dawn on the other side.

Max hadn't said that she loved him. He knew that she wasn't ready, and he thought that was okay. He didn't need to hear it; he saw it in her eyes. Hell, it took almost a year and a half and the thought of losing her to Logan for him to finally admit that he loved her. It would be unfair to expect her to make declarations of love when she was just coming to terms with the whole deal. No, he didn't need to hear her say it.

He had waited this long. He could wait a little longer.

* * *

A/N: Do you have a stupid, silly grin on your face? Grab a mirror and look. I hope you do, because I sure had one when I finished this chapter, behemoth that it is. It's kind of warm and slightly fuzzy, just enough for a happy ending. Hit that review button and let me know what you think.

Thanks go to Elliesmeow, whose review of the last chapter inspired me to write Max's phone call with Original Cindy. She really hit Max's problem on the head. Since Max was too stubborn to realize these things herself, and I couldn't suddenly add a character named Ellie out of the blue, I figured I'd let OC lay it out for Max. Thanks, Ellie, for the inspiration!

Oh, and if you were expecting a big fight between Max and Alec, sorry to disappoint, but may I remind you that a guy with diminished lung capacity due to a bullet in the chest who had been horizontal for nine days straight and had to trek across TC would probably not feel up to a big fight.

The end?

Kidding. Just kidding! I originally thought about ending it here, but I have a few loose ends I still need to tie up, some things that still need to be said. Just ONE MORE CHAPTER to go—kind of an epilogue, of sorts. (No use asking for any more. The next one is it.) I think I'll leave you guessing on the title this time.


	13. Ch 12: Worth It

The Friggin' Cure

by Inzane

Disclaimer: sigh This is the last time I am going to disclaim in this story. sniff I do not own Dark Angel. I do not own Max and Alec. I am only owner to the crazy plot that has been running round in my head for the past two months.

Summary: Alec is critically injured while on a mission to get the cure. Max comes to realize her true feelings for Alec, but is it too late?

A/N: This chapter exists because of one line. There is one line that I felt I just had to include in this fic, I just couldn't live without it, but it just didn't fit right in the previous chapter. There's other stuff that I like in here, but I could've lived without it, but that one line... it made me do it. You get a shiny gold star if you can figure out which line it is. I'm not telling.

Warning: Warm fuzzy alert. Also, **this chapter is rated a soft M**for adult situations. There is nothing graphic, nothing that you wouldn't see on prime time TV I don't think. (It's a lot tamer then Sammy gettin' busy on Supernatural in the ep Heart, that's for sure. Inzane fans herself. You SPN fans know what I'm talkin' about.) I'm just rating it a soft M to play it safe. Skip it if you feel you need to, but I think you'll regret it.

* * *

Chapter 12: Worth It 

"Hey, Logan, you have any more boxes? These are all full."

Logan came out from under his desk, where he had been methodically unhooking computer cables. He turned to see Asha peeking her blonde head around the corner.

Asha wasn't drop-dead gorgeous like Max, but she had a unique, almost elfin-like quality that made her beautiful in a different way. She had always been there to help him, had always stuck by his side, and he couldn't really understand why, as he had never seemed to give her much of a reason. He realized sadly that he had always taken her for granted. Maybe, given time, something more might develop between them. That, however, was a concern for the future. A month had passed since the night he had walked out of Terminal City, but the wounds caused by Max's absence from his life were still too raw, too deep. Maybe someday he and Asha could be more. But right now, he really just needed a friend.

He gave her a charming smile, pushing his glasses back up from where they had slid down to the end of his nose. "There should be a bunch downstairs."

"Right," Asha replied, and she began to turn to search for more boxes.

"Hey, Asha," Logan called out, stopping her in her tracks. She turned back around, a questioning look on her face.

Logan hung his head for a second. When he looked back up, his eyes were full of sincerity.

"Thanks." Silently, he added, _for everything_.

Asha somehow knew that the single word had much more import than her just helping to pack some boxes. "Don't mention it," she said softly, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, a flutter of hope in her heart.

Logan ducked back under his desk to get back to work, and Asha turned to go down to the basement, her head not turning until the last moment as she took one more wistful look at Logan. When her head finally turned around, she let out a small, startled scream.

At the sound Asha's cry, Logan jerked, smacking his head hard on the underside of the desk. His exoskeleton whirred as he scurried out from under it, one hand going to his aching head while the other reached out to snag the Browning 9 mm that was sitting on the desk. Alec's run in with White had reminded Logan that the Familiar had a score to settle with them all, and he had kept the gun close at hand ever since.

"What is it?" he asked, slightly alarmed. He looked past Asha to see what had startled her. There, in the doorway between rooms, stood a man, still as a statue, silent and imposing. It was if he had materialized out of nowhere.

"Alec," Asha whispered. A blush rose to her cheeks as she remembered the time she had almost gone to bed with this man. She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she had.

"Alec," Logan said, repeating Asha's words with wary puzzlement. The X-5 was the last person, aside from Max, that he ever expected to show up on his doorstep. He let go of the gun, and slowly dropped both hands to his sides.

"Hey," Alec replied, ignoring Asha as he fixed Logan with a stare. The tension in the room suddenly skyrocketed.

Sensing the strained atmosphere, Asha did the smart thing and planned to make herself scarce. She hiked a thumb over her shoulder and slowly began to back away.

"I'll, um, just go see if I can't find those boxes. I'll be downstairs if you need me." With that, she turned and made a quick exit.

The two men were locked in a standoff. It seemed that neither wanted to be the first to break the tension. Logan noticed that Alec looked much as he always had. There was little to hint that a month ago he had balanced on the precipice of death, save for the small, barely perceptible line of a scar gracing his left cheekbone. What scars were hidden by his clothes, Logan didn't want to think about. His carelessness had caused those scars.

The silence had reached the point of being awkward when Alec finally spoke, turning his head only slightly as he glanced around at the boxes.

"So. You're leaving."

Logan was unnerved more by Alec's abbreviated words and unnatural stillness than his unexpected presence. The transgenic had always had so much to say, and had always been so animated when saying it, that his clipped comments disturbed Logan. It made him unsure of Alec's intentions, and a chill ran down his spine as he vividly remembered Alec picking him up by the neck and slamming him into the wall. He had to clear his throat before he could answer.

"Yeah. It's time to move on," he replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. He shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't feel right to stay. Found a new place, a bit outside of Seattle. Thought I could start over, you know, in a place without so many memories. I'll still be close enough to help you guys, though, if you need me..." He trailed off, realizing that he couldn't continue to pretend that everything was okay between them. "Frankly, I'm kind of shocked to see you here."

A change seemed to come over Alec, and in an instant, he was once again the Alec that Logan knew. He sauntered into the room with casual grace, smirk in place, picking up random objects to look at and then discard.

"Yeah, Max'll skin me alive if she finds out I'm here. This is the first time I've been out of Terminal City in a month. Had to sneak out." He turned back to Logan, fully intending to make some smart-ass comment, when the look on the cyber-journalist's face made him decide against it.

"I think you know that's not what I meant," Logan said, his voice subdued.

Alec ducked his head, placing his own hands in his pockets so that his stance mirrored Logan's. He could see that Logan felt guilty about what had happened. Luke had told him that Logan had called to check on him every day when he had been in a coma. But Alec had guilt of his own.

He remembered his anger at Max, months and months ago, when she had lied to Logan and said that they were a couple so she could protect Logan. _Yeah, so blame Alec, 'cause he's just the kind of jerk that'd steal another guy's girl. _Now he felt that he _was _that kind of jerk, that he had stolen Max away. He knew it was illogical. Max had told him that she and Logan had been over for a while, even if they hadn't admitted it at the time. She wasn't property to be bartered between men; she wasn't a _thing _that could be stolen. All the same, Alec felt that in falling for Max, he had, in some way, done Logan a great wrong, and was overcome with the need to explain himself. He knew what it felt like to want Max but not have her.

He looked up suddenly, meeting Logan's blue eyes with his own hazel.

"I love her, Logan," The words poured out of him; they weighed too heavily on his chest. "I'm not gonna apologize for it. I can't be sorry for how I feel. You probably don't give a damn, but I didn't plan this. I didn't mean for it to happen, it just did." He ducked his head again, uncomfortable discussing something so personal with another man. But he felt these things needed to be said.

"I guess you and I have a lot more in common than we thought, huh? Both in love with the same girl." He looked up slightly at this, raising his eyes to meet Logan's once more. "Too bad it took two bullets for me to finally get it."

He had really known before that, from the moment Logan had told him about the cure, but he was not about to tell the other man that. There were some things he planned to keep to himself.

Logan had been shocked that Alec had come to square things with him, as if it had been _Alec_ in the wrong. At the mention of the ordeal the transgenic had managed to survive; however, Logan took a halting step forward, arms waving slightly as he reached for an explanation, tried to think of what words could possibly express his regret without belittling what Alec had gone through.

"Look, I'm sorry, Alec. I never meant..." he began earnestly, but Alec cut him off, holding up a hand to stop him.

"I'm not here looking for an apology, Logan. I know why you did it, and I don't blame you. Might've done the same thing myself, if the situation had been reversed."

At these words, Logan looked closely at the X-5. He didn't know the man that Alec had become, and he was honestly not sure that he had ever really known him at all. Maybe Alec had changed, or maybe Logan had always just seen what he wanted to see. Looking at him now, he realized just how much he had misjudged this man over the time that he had known him.

The first time he had thought Max was with Alec, he had never been able to let go, not really. He had hung on to the hope that someday he and Max would be together. Now Max and Alec _were _together, and it was no lie. Logan's heart ached as he realized a bitter truth. Max was with Alec not because he was a transgenic, one of her own kind, but maybe because Alec was the better man. Logan had always wanted to be happy with Max. Alec had only wanted Max to be happy, and that made all the difference in the world. The smile that came to his face was strained.

"No," he said, shaking his head slightly, "I don't think you would have."

Alec looked down at this, a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, well, just wanted you to know." The transgenic had said his peace and started to leave, but Logan stopped him.

"Hey," Logan said, standing a bit taller as he straightened his shoulders. Alec turned back and raised his eyebrows in question.

"Take care of her, Alec." Logan remembered when he'd had a similar discussion with him. He had been full of bitterness and anger then. This time, he truly meant what he said.

Alec nodded, acknowledging more than Logan's words, but also the intentions behind them. He gave the older man a slight smile.

"Always." With that final word, he was gone in a blur.

* * *

Dalton had been sitting on the roof of the house, taking the high ground for tactical advantage while Alec was in talking to Logan. He'd thought the whole idea was stupid, but had been unable to dissuade his friend, who threatened to go it alone. Dalton realized that Alec asking him to come along was a concession to the fact that he was not functioning at one-hundred percent yet. Alec was mostly healed, and at a glance, nothing appeared to be wrong with him. He could have taken on any ordinary without a problem, but Familiars were another matter. Alec didn't think they would run into any trouble, but trouble always had a way of finding Alec, hence the request for backup. So Dalton had come along, grumbling the entire time. 

As he saw Alec exit the building, Dalton jumped from the roof to land in a crouch beside his friend with a barely audible thud. He stood and gave Alec an assessing look. As the man's fists were not covered in blood, he was pretty sure what had gone on inside. He tried to hold it in--it was none of his business really--but as they began to walk back to TC, Dalton was afraid he would explode if he didn't say something.

"I can't believe you forgave him," the X-6 said angrily.

Alec raised an eyebrow at the venom in Dalton's voice. "Logan's not a bad guy. He did what he thought he had too. I can't hold it against him."

Dalton harrumphed at this. "Yeah, well _I _can." He had been there, had lived through what happened, and he figured that night just might haunt him for the rest of his life.

Alec smiled and shook his head, touched by Dalton's loyalty.

"Let it go, kid. Life's too short." They continued walking, heading for the nearest sewer entrance. Dalton was stubbornly silent, a frown on his face. Alec reached over to ruffle the kid's hair, causing the X-6 to swat at Alec's hand and pull his head away in irritation. Alec couldn't help but grin.

"Come on, I'll buy you a nice greasy burger before we head back. Red meat, buddy, is the cure for everything."

At Alec's words, Dalton's face was transformed, and the frown was replaced by a faraway, yearning look.

"Red meat…" the adolescent said reverently. Alec was pretty sure there was drool.

The X-5 laughed and punched the kid on the shoulder, causing him to stumble sideways a bit under the force. Dalton retaliated with a roundhouse swing at Alec's head, which the older man easily ducked. Status quo re-established, they walked away in companionable silence, in search of red meat.

* * *

Alec was lucky that Max never found out about his little trip outside Terminal City, because he was right in his assessment--Max would have skinned him alive. After coming so close to losing him, she had become a bit obsessive about his health and safety. The simple trip to Logan's place had involved an elaborate set of lies combined with favorable circumstances, as well as a bit of blackmail to ensure Oscar's help in slipping past the Border Patrol. Alec hoped he wouldn't need to lie to Max again, but honestly, he knew that it wasn't the first time and probably wouldn't be the last. Especially if she continued to hover over him like he was as fragile as spun glass. 

After the night of their big confessions, Alec had returned to Medical, and had stayed another week under Vash's strict supervision. Thanks to Max's interference, he was able to avoid the threatened catheter, but was restricted to practically bread and water as a lesser form of punishment. And damn if Vash didn't sniff out every attempt to sneak him in some real food.

Max visited him every day, often several times a day. During her visits, they just talked. They had spent so much of the time they had known each other hiding behind a facade, that they needed to learn how to talk to each other without all the pretense.

Max was very hesitant when she touched Alec. There were some chaste kisses, a casual touch here and there, but nothing like the passionate kiss they had shared that night. Alec knew that Max was afraid of hurting him, but dammit, he was getting stronger every day and was seriously tired of being treated like an invalid. As soon as Vash sprung him from Medical, he immediately set about remedying that situation.

He began slowly, a caress here, a light touch there, a slide of his tongue over her bottom lip when he kissed her. He would pull her against him, to prove that he could take the weight of her pressed against him without wincing in pain. He could tell when he aroused her, and it pleased him to no end. Now all he needed to do was heal up a bit more, and he would show her what it was like to be truly aroused.

About a month after he and Max had stopped denying their feelings, and a day after he went to see Logan, Alec felt strong enough to make his move.

Max was in one of the storage rooms going over an inventory list, and she was all by her lonesome. _Perfect_. He slowly slid in behind her, knowing that she was aware of him, that she sensed him enter the room. He molded his body to the back of hers, wrapping an arm around her waist as his free hand brushed aside the hair from her neck. He leaned in, nuzzling her barcode, and whispered a deep and husky _Maaaax _against her skin.

Max's head fell to the side, and her body melted against his. She reveled in the feel of his hard body against hers, in his roaming hands. God, she wanted him. She wanted him so badly. _No_, she mentally shook herself, reminding herself that he was not ready, that she couldn't risk hurting him.

"Alec," she pleaded, wanting him to stop but deep down hoping that he wouldn't.

Max's buried hopes were fulfilled, for Alec spun her around and shoved her up against the shelves, pressing the length of his body against hers as he kissed her like he would devour her. Her whole body was suddenly aflame. She could smell his arousal, and it almost drove her mad. She knew she should stop him, but her mind was losing the battle to her body's needs. Only when her hands, suddenly wandering under Alec's shirt, ran over the slightly rough skin of the scars on his chest did she come to her senses and shove him back.

"We can't," she said breathlessly, chest heaving and cheeks flushed.

Alec made a little noise of frustration, which Max found so incredibly sexy. _No! Down, Max. Behave!_

"_Maaaxieeee_..." Alec pleaded, reaching for her, but she stepped aside, holding a hand up.

"No," she shook her head, backing away from him. "Not until you're completely healed."

Alec reached for her again, causing her to evade once more. "I _am _completely healed, Max," he insisted, putting on his best _I'm-being-totally-honest-here_ look.

Max crossed her arms and cocked out a hip, and she looked so damn hot that Alec was sure he was just going to burst into a ball of flame on the spot.

"Oh yeah?" Max replied in a _don't-you-tell-__**me**__-how-it-is_ voice. "Then why is your breath hitching?"

_Shit_, Alec thought. _Fucking scar tissue in my lung is still fucking up my day! _

"Is not," he said sullenly, sounding like a little boy trying to lie about being in the cookie jar.

"Bullshit," Max countered succinctly. Then, a wicked thought popped into her head. _Hmmm… payback._

With a crooked, sultry smile, she stalked over to Alec, watching his eyes widen and dilate at the sway of her hips. She stopped inches in front of him, and traced a slow line down the center of his chest with her index finger. The action had an immediate response, and yes, his breath was definitely still hitching.

"Alec," she purred. "When we do this thing, I want you to be at one-hundred percent. I've got a whole lot of pent up needs, and they're gonna take quite some time to fulfill." She leaned forward and tilted her face up, her lips mere inches from his own. "I promise I'll make it worth the wait."

Alec actually growled at this. _She's going to kill me. I survived two bullets to the chest, a coma, and here I'm gonna die from sexual frustration, goddammit._

Max's body involuntarily arched toward his at the sound of his growl, and she had to step back to compose herself. She tilted her head at him, giving him a clearly fake apologetic look.

"Sorry, Alec. I imagine we won't be moving any of _your furniture _for quite some time yet."

"_**Sonofabitch! **_I _knew_ you were gonna hold that shit against me!"

* * *

Alec spent the next month trying to find ways to prove to Max that he was completely healed. The direct approach wasn't working, and she wouldn't let him go on any missions, so he began to take up more physical jobs around TC, making damn sure he was conspicuous as he did it. 

Every once in a while, he would catch her watching him. It always brought smug smile to his face to feel her eyes on him. He figured it wouldn't be long before she cracked.

But time wore on, and she didn't crack. He knew that she was just concerned about him, but he was fine, dammit! He'd tried talking to her a couple of times, but it was like talking to a stubborn, infuriatingly sexy brick wall. He was starting to get frustrated, and frankly, a little bit angry. She didn't trust him? She didn't believe him? _Fine_. He wasn't gonna beg. Let her stew in her own damn juices. He wasn't gonna make the first move. She'd have to come to him.

Once he'd made up his mind to quit pressuring Max, he felt a lot better. A lot of cold showers didn't hurt, either.

He and Max spent a lot of their free time together. They often found themselves bumming around Alec's apartment, crashing on his couch as they watched a movie. They often bickered over the choice of the movie, who got the bigger pillow, Alec's frequent running commentary as he talked over the dialogue… They still bickered about a lot of things, only now there was a more playful, teasing quality to it that they no longer needed to feel uncomfortable about.

While he played the waiting game with Maxie, he decided it wouldn't hurt to get back in top condition. He began working out twice a day, improving on his already well-defined muscles. He made a point to run the stairs of TC's highest building every day, to try to work that stubborn hitch out of his breathing. He took over the martial arts training for the X-6 and younger series. He had always been at the top of all of the unarmed combat classes back at Manticore; it would be good to pass on his expertise, and honestly, he felt a little rusty. He was sure that these classes would whip him back into fighting form. He became so involved that he didn't even notice when the hitch in his breath disappeared. But Max did.

* * *

It was early afternoon, and Alec was teaching the advanced level of his martial arts class, mostly X-6s and a few of the silent X-7s. It was exactly two months and four days since the night Alec had been shot. He stood barefoot, in sweatpants and a t-shirt, as he watched the class. His hair was back to normal, for which he was eternally grateful. The small scar on his cheekbone had completely faded to the human eye, though transgenic eyesight would be able to pick up a slight imperfection in the skin. The scars on his chest remained, though if he had been human, one would have thought that he had gotten them years ago instead of just two months ago.

Dalton and Oscar, his two best students among the class, were engaged in a flurry of kicks and punches. They seemed to be locked in a stalemate, neither able to gain the upper hand long enough to hold it. One moment, Oscar would have Dalton pinned, another, Dalton would send Oscar flying through the air.

Alec finally halted the fight. These two were getting nowhere. They knew each other's moves too well.

"All right, fellas, that's enough." Dalton and Oscar both straightened, breathing hard and looking a bit worse for the wear. Both looked perfectly happy to call the fight a draw.

Alec turned back to the class. "You see, guys, what happens when two opponents become used to each other's fighting styles? They end up deadlocked. It becomes a matter of stamina instead of a matter of skill. And trust me, you do not want it to come to that. If it does come to that, what you need to be able to do is improvise. Do something your opponent won't expect."

He waved over Wil, an X-5 he had known back at Manticore, who he had asked to sit in on the class to help him demonstrate. He explained that he had fought Wil plenty of times back in the day, and they knew each other's style pretty well. He didn't notice Max standing in the shadows, watching him. He never heard her sharply indrawn breath when he grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it carelessly aside. As he began to explain some further points to the class, Max found his voice faded into the background as the sight of him overloaded her senses.

"_Damn,_" she whispered quietly to herself. She knew he had been working out, but this was the first time she had actually gotten such a close look at the results. He had put on some muscle--enough to increase his strength, but not so much that it would slow him down. His sweatpants hung low on his hips, and she had a full view of his rippling chest and his six-pack abs. She had to admit the sight of him was quite… _spectacular_. The light scars on his chest did nothing to detract from the perfection of his form, and for the first time, Max found that she didn't cringe when she looked at them. A slow smile spread across her face.

_This man is mine. All mine._

Max felt a sudden irresistible urge to mark him, to lay her claim on him, to make it so that any transgenic female would know at a glance that Alec belonged to her, and no other. And she knew that she would instantly lay out any bitch that dared to try to come between them.

She watched Alec's graceful movements as he fought Wil. He was always so fluid when he fought. Unlike the heavy combat models like her brother Zach, Alec was built for stealth and speed. As the fight went on, she felt herself getting warmer and warmer as she watched him move. She couldn't help but imagine how fluid he would be in the bedroom.

Max gasped slightly as Alec failed to block, causing Wil to land a punishing hit. It became obvious that Alec had planned it, because he used Wil's motion against him to get inside his guard and latch onto his arm. He went with the hit, which allowed him to duck under Wil's outstretched arm. As he passed, he latched his other hand around Wil's neck and let his weight drop to the floor, sending Wil crashing face first into the mat. Alec had never let go of his hold on the other transgenic's neck, and now had the man in a choke hold, a knee resting in the center of Wil's back.

"See?" Alec said, panting as he looked up at the class. "Unexpected."

He let Wil up and stood, a sheen of sweat causing his golden skin to glisten. Wil stood, rubbing the back of his neck.

"When did you learn a move like that?" he asked Alec, a little irritated he had been beaten. He should have known. Alec had always beaten him before, but never so quickly.

Alec smirked. "A certain badass transgenic female taught me the fine art of fighting dirty." His head turned as he suddenly heard clapping coming from a shadowy corner. He raised his eyebrows as Max sauntered out of the darkness, face flushed and looking terribly aroused.

"Nice," she said, her voice deep as she stopped a few feet from him.

Alec swallowed hard. He turned his head back to his students. "Class dismissed," he said, his voice hoarse. _Damn, the effect this woman has on me!_

The other transgenics grabbed up their various clothes and filed out of the room. Dalton was the last to leave, giving Alec a knowing smirk and a wink before he exited the room. Once they were all gone, he turned back to Max, his heart suddenly pounding against his ribs as if it were seeking escape.

She closed the distance between them, leaning her body up against his. His eyes rolled up in his head as the heady scent of her assaulted him. She stood on tiptoe, her right hand going up to rest over his barcode and pull him down a bit. Her lips brushed his ear, and her voice was low and sultry.

"I think you're all healed now, Alec."

Before he could react, Max slowly backed away, allowing her fingertips to trail down over the droplets of sweat on his chest.

"Gotta blaze," she said, her lips pursed as she continued to back away. She brought up the same hand that she had trailed down his chest, the same hand that held a few droplets of his sweat, and ran the hand down her own neck to the hemline of her shirt, marking herself with his scent. His whole body was suddenly hard as a rock.

"I'm due in Command for my shift. See you tonight." With that parting shot, she was gone, nothing but a blur.

Alec just stared at the place where she had stood.

"Ugh." He couldn't manage anything more coherent. His knees were suddenly weak, and he sat down hard on the mat. The implications of what she said had his head buzzing. After a minute, when he had come back to his senses, he flopped backward onto the mat, hands burying themselves in his hair.

"How the hell am I gonna get through the day after a comment like that!"

* * *

He had tried to keep himself busy, tried not to think about it. He had gone back to his place and taken a very long, very cold shower. It didn't help. He tried helping out with various jobs around TC, but he couldn't pay attention to what he was doing, and each time he was booted from the job because of his preoccupation. He couldn't stop thinking about her. He was going insane. And he was damn well sure that she _knew _he was.

He may love her, but sometimes, she was still a bitch. Somehow, that made him love her even more.

He was eternally grateful that he wasn't due for a shift in Command, because he wasn't sure if he could look at her without dragging her bodily into her office and taking her right there on her desk. That would sure give the rest of the Command staff an earful.

He made sure to avoid Mole, Dalton, Joshua--dear God, especially Joshua--anyone that would be able to look at him and see what was going on. If he had to face Joshua asking him if _Max and Alec gettin' busy_, he was gonna self destruct.

He went to Max's high place, sat on the edge of the building, looking in instead of out at the skyline. His leg kept jittering up and down, and he would slam a fist down on it to stop it, but it would just start up again in a minute.

This was ridiculous. He had been with _countless _women. He in no way doubted his ability to pleasure one. But those women before, they all been just a way to fulfill a basic need. He had never before been with a woman that he cared about, that he _loved_. She was his match in every way. The other half of his soul. It was ridiculous, but the prospect that he might somehow... _disappoint _her scared the shit out of him.

He wondered where this sudden self-doubt came from. Maybe his injuries, being so vulnerable and weak for all that time, had been a major blow to his self esteem. Or maybe it was just that it had never mattered so much before what a woman thought of him. But then again, he realized that it had always mattered what she thought. He had hung around, changed his ways, got a job, tried to be a better man... all because he cared what she thought of him.

He sighed and stood. Turning to take a glance out at the skyline, he took in a deep, cleansing breath. And smiled. It was so good to be able to draw in a lung full of wonderful, slightly toxic, smoggy air. He would never take such a simple act for granted again.

He turned and headed for the stairs. He figured he might as well go back to his apartment. Max's shift wasn't over for about another hour yet. Maybe he could kill time by watching a video or something. Or maybe he could just stare at the walls and imagine the sight of Max's naked body. _Hmmmm_... Either way, the time wasn't going to pass any faster.

* * *

When Alec stepped into his apartment, he figured that he had finally lost it. He was so preoccupied thinking about Max that he had even conjured up the memory of her scent. It seemed to surround him, and he stopped in the center of his living room and closed his eyes, reveling in the memory of it.

When he opened his eyes, for a moment he thought he was seeing things as well, because there, across the room, was the woman that had taken over his every thought for the past several hours. He blinked twice, but the vision didn't change. She was there, and what a vision she was.

She was slinking out of his bathroom, steam following her. Alec had heard from OC of Max's near miss with hypothermia in his shower, and had managed to score a working water heater for his place just a week ago. He hadn't told her. He wanted to surprise her, but apparently, she had figured it out for herself.

As he took in the sight of her, he was frozen in place, dumbstruck. She was wearing one of those tight, little black tank tops that exposed her belly, a swath of black, lacy underwear, and nothing else. She was leaning to the side, brushing out a wave of glossy, dark hair.

Max tossed the brush aside and straightened. "Hope you don't mind if I used your shower. Love the hot water," she said in a sultry voice that promised of pleasures yet to come.

Alec was speechless. His mouth hung slightly open as she stalked toward him, all swinging hips and curves and flowing dark hair. He tried hard to keep a grip on himself, because he was afraid that if he didn't, he would lose control and it would all be over in minutes.

Max stopped directly in front of him, her breasts practically brushing his chest, and tilted her head back to smile up at him.

"Oh, look. Another way to shut you up." The smile turned into a smirk, and when she bit her bottom lip, a wicked look in her eyes, she had him.

He grabbed her around the waist and pulled to close the distance between them. He paused for a brief moment to look in her eyes, sharing all he felt for her with that look, before he bent down and plundered her mouth.

He wasn't sure how long they kissed, standing there in his living room. Time no longer had meaning. The world outside no longer existed. At some point, he realized that he had lost his shirt somehow, Max was in his arms, legs wrapped around his waist, and he had her back pressed up against the wall outside his bedroom door. _Bedroom. Bed. Right. That's what we need._

He rolled them so that Max came away from the wall and they rolled into the open doorway. He found himself backing toward the bed, still plundering her mouth as if the mysteries of the universe where concealed inside. He came to an abrupt halt as the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed, and he sat down hard, Max bouncing in his arms. He planned to flip her over onto the bed, but suddenly her arms were on his shoulders, pushing him back. He looked up at her in confusion, eyes glazed with passion. He desperately hoped that she hadn't changed her mind about the state of his health. Or about him in general. All the blood had flowed to another part of his anatomy, so he wasn't thinking very clearly at the moment.

Max saw the confused look in his beautiful eyes, now a mesmerizing deep green. But she had to stop him before things went too far. This man had become everything to her. He was part of her. He was her life. And she couldn't do this, be with him, without telling him.

"_Alec_," she said breathlessly, eyes boring into his. When he tried to close his eyes and duck his head, she knew he was afraid of what she might say, but she needed to see his eyes when she said this. She grabbed his head and forced it to her, forced him to look at her. When he opened his eyes, her hands no longer held him in place but caressed his strong jaw. She took a deep breath, and then took the plunge.

"_I love you_."

His reaction was everything that she hoped it would be and more. His entire face lit up. His smile was heart-rending and pure, holding nothing back, and it shone through to his eyes. She could read every emotion in his face and was almost overcome by the strength of her own. The moment was perfect. And then, she caught a sudden twinkle in his eye, and Alec couldn't help but be Alec.

The smile transformed itself into the smirk that she had come to love, and his eyes filled with mischief.

"Of course you do," was his reply to her heartfelt declaration of love.

Some women might have been pissed, but Max knew the man she had fallen in love with, and his response made her love him all the more. Still, she couldn't let him think that he could get away with it.

Her smirk matched his own, and she leaned back in his arms so she could take a swing at his head. He ducked, and they tumbled onto the bed. They began to tussle in earnest, each seeking to dominate the other, the occasional laugh or squeal punctuating the mock fight. They were a little too overzealous, and found themselves tumbling right off the edge of the bed to land with a thud on the floor.

Alec rolled until he was on top, and pinned Max's arms above her head to end the fight. Her face was flushed and her eyes were bright with exertion. The smile on her face made him want to lay his heart at her feet. He let go of one arm to softly brush a strand of hair away from her face.

"I love you back, Maxie," he said quietly, letting his eyes tell the truth of his words.

He saw her melt, and in that moment, he knew that Max's fears about him, about what he would risk for her, had been right. He would gladly lay down his life for this woman. He would do anything, go through hell, just to see that smile on her face.

He scooped her up from the floor, cradling her in his arms for a moment before gently laying her back down on the bed. He didn't want their first time together to be on the hard floor. Not that he had anything against doing it on the floor, but not the first time. He wanted the first time to be special. Something neither one of them would forget. As Alec lay down next to Max on the bed, together they proceeded to make the memory of a lifetime. And, when, in the height of their passion, Max cried out his name--_his_ name--he knew, for the first time in his life, what it was to experience true bliss.

* * *

Max called out his name many times that night, and he called out hers. Their passion knew no bounds, and their energy seemed endless. They couldn't get enough of each other. After an especially energetic round on the couch, Alec had fallen into a light sleep due to what seemed now an unfortunate lack of shark DNA. But he soon woke to soft lips and roaming hands, and he had to admit that if you had to wake up, that was definitely the way to go.

They finally found themselves back in Alec's bed, spent, sheets in a tangle at the bottom. Alec lay on his back, an arm flung over his head, while Max lay beside him on her stomach, an arm flung over him. They stayed that way for a while until their hearts slowed, their bodies stilled. Alec heard a soft, contented sigh from Max.

"I didn't know it could be like that," she said wistfully.

Alec barked out a laugh. "I hope that's a compliment."

Max rolled her eyes. _Men_. "No, I just had sex with you six times..."

Alec interrupted her at this. "Ahem. Seven."

"..._seven _times," she corrected, propping herself up on an elbow so she could look down at him, "because you are a horrible lover." She smacked him on the shoulder. "Dumbass."

Alec's response to the blow was a fake wince and a crooked grin. "Glad to know that some things haven't changed."

Max's face fell, suddenly serious. "You know, I've... I've never been with another transgenic before. It was nice..."

"Just nice?" Alec interrupted again, a pretend hurt look on his face.

Max leaned over him, slapping a hand over his mouth to shut him up. "…_nice _to not have to pretend that I'm something I'm not, to completely give in to what I wanted without being afraid of scaring you or hurting you." She slowly drew her hand away, and then found she had done so prematurely.

Alec moved around as if his body was stiff and aching. "I don't know, Max, I'm feelin' pretty sore…"

Max made a frustrated noise. He was going to drive her crazy. Here she was trying to be serious, to tell him something important, and he was screwing around. She went to get up, but Alec snagged her around the waist and pulled her back down to the bed, laughing.

"No, wait. Wait! I'm sorry! I'll stop, okay? Honest."

Max eyed him suspiciously. That was the trouble with getting involved with someone that lying came as naturally to as breathing. You never knew when they were serious. If she was going to try to make this thing work with him, she was going to have to afford him a degree of trust. She settled back down with him, lying on her side facing him, tucking her hands under her chin.

Alec was silent for a minute, debating whether he should confess. If he wanted her to trust him, he was going to have to trust her as well. He took a breath and held it, then let go.

"I haven't either." He saw Max wrinkle her brow in confusion, so he made himself perfectly clear. "Been with another transgenic, that is."

Max propped herself back up on her elbow again, completely incredulous. She figured trust just went out the window. "Come on..." she said in disbelief.

"No, really." The look on his face was dead serious.

Max raised her eyebrows and drew her head back in shock. "Seriously?" His eyes told her he was being completely honest with her. She paused, thinking about it for a minute, and then the realization came to her. "But that would mean..." she trailed off, hardly able to believe it.

Alec rolled on his side and propped himself up on his elbow, mirroring her. "...that before tonight I haven't been with a girl in over eight months? 'Fraid so."

He let his words sink in, and laughed at the look on Max's face. "Guess we were kinda both virgins, in a way, before tonight."

Max's mouth dropped open in shock. She thought back to all the times since the transgenics had been trapped in TC that she had thought he'd been out making time with some other X series girl. But that had never happened. She smiled a small, pleased smile that she was his first. Her boy was full of surprises.

Alec felt the need to explain it to her, afraid she still might not believe him. "I've been with plenty of regular girls," he smirked at this, "a whole lot really, but I've never been with another of my own kind. Those girls, they were just a way to forget about what I really wanted. I knew I could never have anything real with them anyway." His eyes fell at this, a bit embarrassed by his own words. But he continued on.

"When we were suddenly locked here in TC, and all those transgenic girls were available, and hell, they were _interested_, I found I didn't want any of them. I didn't know why at first. Just thought I was being picky." He paused, taking in a quick short breath and blowing it out before his next words.

"I think I've always known who I wanted… just took a while for my head to accept what my heart was telling me." On his last word, his eyes slowly came back up to meet her face and he bit his bottom lip, unused to expressing such sentiment openly.

Max found herself blinking back tears. That had to be the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her. All of Logan's romantic candlelight dinners and pre-pulse wine couldn't even compare.

Seeing that Max looked like she was about to cry, Alec did what any typical male would do. He tried to stop it all costs. He grabbed her around the waist, causing her to squeak in surprise as he rolled her over his body to his other side, then rolled on top of her, pinning her with his weight.

"Now if you don't mind," he told her, lightly kissing the tip of her nose, "I'd like to get some sleep before all this serious talk makes hearts and flowers start flying out my ass."

A smile broke across Max's face as she laughed and reached up to hug him tight. Pleased he had averted the waterworks, Alec leaned back, pulling her with him until she was curled up next to his side. Where she belonged. They snuggled in to each other and closed their eyes, satisfied smiles on both their faces, as they finally succumbed to sleep.

* * *

There was a soft glow on the horizon, signaling dawn. Alec leaned against the window, watching the sunrise. He was tired, and to be honest, a bit sore, but he found that he couldn't sleep. He glanced down at the plastic container in his hand. Inside, rolling around the bottom, were two bullets--the ones that Vash had removed from his chest. He'd insisted on keeping them. He had hid them from Max, figuring that it would be too harsh a reminder for her. But he found that he needed the reminder. He needed to remember how close he had come to losing it all.

He raised the container, holding it up so he could better contemplate its contents. Funny, really. They were so small. Hard to believe that such little things could do so much damage. But they had done something else. They had finally made things happen between him and Max. Alec realized that this was completely wack, that getting two bullets to the chest was a completely messed up way to start a relationship. But, hey, what could you expect from a pair like him and Max?

He heard a rustle from the bed, and quickly lowered the container.

"Alec..." Max murmured sleepily.

He turned his head and smiled at the sight of a sleepy Max in his bed. Her hair was tousled, and her eyes were heavy lidded as she stretched out a hand along the mattress, reaching for him.

"Mmmmm... thought I was the one with the shark DNA. Come back to bed."

Smile still on his face, Alec crawled back into bed, sliding in beside her. She burrowed in next to his side and sighed, eyes drifting closed again, too worn out for anything else.

Alec placed a soft kiss on the top of Max's head, then pulled her tighter to him and sighed happily. Facing White… two bullets to the chest... a coma? It was worth it.

The End

Inzane March 2007

* * *

A/N: It is finished! (Cue Ode to Joy in the background, please.) Hours and hours of lost sleep has finally come to fruition. I can breathe a sigh of relief now that I've finally gotten this story out of my head. Thanks to everyone who came along for the ride. I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did. Please, please, please hit that review button and let me know.

* * *

Some funny things you might not know about this story:

First, it was meant to be a oneshot. I know, I know, over 84,000 _thousand _words, twelvechapters plus a prologue, and it was supposed to be a _oneshot?!_

(I will pause while you pick yourself up off the floor after falling out of your chair from laughter.)

Well, what can I say? I've always been an overachiever. It was all based on the part where Max kisses Alec in Endings and Beginnings and says if she knew it was that easy to shut him up, she would have done it a long time ago. Then I thought about why she would kiss him, what would make her realize her feelings, then I had to figure out how Alec got hurt in order to force her to realize her feelings, and then it just snowballed out of control.

And another thing…I was never going to write FUBAR. The prospect was too scary. Could I really write believable action? I didn't know. I was just going to have Alec show up shot and infer what happened, but then I thought, well, if _I _were reading this story, I'd be pissed that the writer left out the action. There's just not enough action stories out there. So I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm glad I did, because it's one of my favorite chapters.

In case you didn't notice, tried really, really hard not to make Logan the bad guy, or a complete ass. I did not want to turn this story into a Logan hatefest. I think he was in love with Max, and love can make you do strange, stupid things sometimes, especially when you think you're about to lose the person you love. I couldn't make Max hate him, either. This man was basically the first real love of her life, even if it was more of a warm fuzzy kind of love instead of blazing fireworks (I don't think Logan is capable of blazing fireworks…just my personal opinion). You can't just forget someone like that.

You know, I've become ridiculously attached to my boys, Dalton and Oscar. Since I'm not ready to cut the strings just yet, I am actually planning a short (and I mean it this time…I think) fic revolving around them before I try moving on to anything else. After I catch up on some sleep that is. Watch for it, or put me on your author alerts. ahem... shameless plug

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go collapse on my bed and pass out. For a month.


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